Ion  board  a 
WHALER 


IHOMAb  M 


i  ivi 


Elizabeth  S.  Fisk, 

Holyoke,  Mass, 


Elizabeth  S.  i&A, 

Holyoke,  Mass," 


"for  many  months  we  had  not  seen  the  OLD  FLAG." 


On  Board  a  Whaler 

An  Adventurous  Cruise  through 
Southern  Seas 


By 

Thomas  West  Hammond 


Illustrated  by 

Harry  George  Burgess 


G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 
New  York  and  London 
Ube  Iknicfeerbocfeer  press 

1901 


Copyright,  September  1901 

BY 

THOMAS  WEST  HAMMOND 


Ube  tmfcfcerbocfcer  preee,  "Hew  Eorfc 


PREFACE 

IT  is  now  thirty  years  since  the  voyage  of  which 
I  have  written  ended,  and  the  lapse  of  so  much 
time  should  have  dimmed  my  recollection  of  some 
of  the  incidents  related;  and  yet  those  incidents 
have  often  risen  so  clearly  before  me  while  writing 
as  almost  to  convince  me  that  I  was  setting  down 
the  identical  words  employed  by  the  various 
participators. 

One  who  desires  to  spin  the  yarn  of  an  American 
whaler  of  half  a  century  ago  has  no  need  to  call  fic- 
tion to  his  aid.  The  romantic  life  of  that  old-time 
sea  hunter  is  so  thoroughly  a  thing  of  the  past  as  to 
need  no  embellishments  borrowed  from  the  imagi- 
nation. 

If  there  are  any  gaps  in  my  recollection  of  this 
cruise  of  other  days, — and  such  gaps  could  involve 
only  minor  details, — I  have  not  hesitated  to  exer- 
cise the  privilege  of  a  seaman,  and  trust  the  story 
will  have  lost  nothing  by  reason  of  any  failure  of 
my  memory. 

iii 


IV 


Preface 


For  obvious  reasons,  the  names  of  my  shipmates, 
as  well  as  of  the  vessel,  have  been  purposely  dis- 
guised. If  the  story  shall  come  to  be  read  by  any 
of  my  old  comrades  they  will  hardly  fail  to  recog- 
nize the  ship  and  her  crew;  but  no  other  reader 
need  acquire  any  more  intimate  acquaintance  with 
either  of  them  than  is  afforded  by  the  book. 

T.  W.  H. 

Tacoma,  May  15,  1900. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

I.  INTRODUCTION  .... 

II.  ORGANIZING 

III.  THE  START — SEASICKNESS — BLACKFISH 

IV.  MY   FIRST  TURN   AT  THE   MASTHEAD 

V.      WE     COMPLAIN     TO     THE      MASTER     AND 

KENNEY   COMES   TO   GRIEF 
VI.       PORPOISES — HOMESICKNESS — DRUDGERY 

VII.      KII.LERS 

VIII.       GRUMBLING— HABITS    OF    KILLERS — CUT- 
TING      

IX.      THE  WORK   CONTINUES      . 
X.      LAND  — DESERTIONS— A    NEW    DEAL 
XI.      JACK   AS   A  TONSORIAL  ARTIST 
XII.      BOATS   AND   EQUIPMENTS 
XIII.      WE    SEE    SPERM    WHALES — NYE     IS    DE 

POSED 

XIV.      GAMMING  AND   RACING      .  .  . 

XV.      EATING    AND    DRINKING — TENERIFFE — 
A  SEA  TURTLE     .... 
XVI.      MORE  ABOUT  THE  SPERM   WHALE     . 
XVII.       ANATOMY,  PHYSIOLOGY,    HYGIENE,    DIET 
AND   PHILOSOPHY 


I 
15 
24 
36 

43 
49 

57 

70 
86 

94 
108 
116 

125 
135 

144 
152 

166 


V! 

CHAPTER 
XVIII. 

XIX. 

XX. 

XXI. 

XXII. 

XXIII. 
XXIV. 

XXV. 

XXVI. 

XXVII. 

XXVIII. 

XXIX. 

XXX. 

XXXI. 
XXXII. 

XXXIII. 

XXXIV. 

XXXV. 

XXXVI. 


Contents 


PAGE 

DUST   AND   NEGROES        .            .            .            .  l8o 

PIE — WATER — BANANAS            .            .            .  1 84 
THE   GIANT  SKATE           .            .            .            -197 

FRENCH    PETE 207 

A   MONKEY — ART    OF    SCRIMSHAWING — 

A  STORM              .....  219 

HAMMERHEADS   AND   FINBACKS      .            .  24I 
WE    SEE    A     GRAMPUS     AND    STRIKE    A 

SPERM   WHALE            ....  259 

A  SULPHUR   BOTTOM         ....  273 

TATTOOING 283 

KINGS   OF  THE  OCEAN  ....  290 
WORK  —  CALCULATIONS  —  JUNKS      AND 

CASES 307 

DANGER       FROM      SCURVY  —  LAND  —  A 

VERY  CLOSE  SHAVE            .           .           .316 
CHUMMING  —  AUTHORITY  —  INDISCRE- 
TION              332 

PRESENTS — MERCHANDISE— SCIENCE      .  342 

A  CAPSIZE  AND   ENTERTAINMENT            .  350 

A  RELIGIOUS   CEREMONY          .           .           .  359 

ODDS   AND   ENDS 368 

THE   END   OF   MY   VOYAGE       .            .           .  375 

IN   CONCLUSION 395 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 


' '  FOR   MANY   MONTHS   WE    HAD    NOT   SEEN   THE 

old  flag"      ....     Frontispiece 
* '  the  captain  bawled  at  jim  :    '  give  it  to 

'im  !  '  " 30 

' '  I   EXPECTED   TO   BE  HURLED    .     .     .    INTO   THE 

SEA   AT  ANY  MOMENT  "  .  .  .  .40 

"WITH   HIS    FURIOUS    MASTER    AT  HIS   HEELS"         48 

1 '  WE  BEGAN  TO  PULL  UP  BY  THE  LINE  UPON  THE 

RUNNING   KILLER  " 64 

"  THE  CAPTAIN  STOOD  BY  AND  WATCHED  UNTIL  I 
SENT  THE  LANCE  DOWN  THROUGH  THE  BACK 
OF  A  BIG  MAN-EATER  "  .  .  .  76 

"he  seized    ANTONE'S   HAIR    WITH  A   VICIOUS 

grasp" 114 

"  pull-ll-l,  yeh  black  louts  !  what  'n  thun- 
DER  ARE   Y'R   DOIN'  ?  "  ....       I42 
' '  THE  WATERS  WERE  ALIVE  WITH  THE  RUSHING 

TROOP  " 158 

' '  THE  AIR  WAS  FULL  OF  SPEARS  FLYING  TOWARD 

OUR  BOAT" .182 

vii 


viii  Illustrations 

PAGE 

1 '  there  was  an  unpleasant  grin  on  the  big 

man's  face"        ......    194 

"  in  less  time   than  it  takes   to  think, 

that  boat  was  goin'  over  "    .        .        .    206 

"we  gritted  our  teeth  hard  and  clung  to 

OUR  WORK  " 234 

"  IT    WAS    THE     BIGGEST    DURN    JUMP    I    EVER 

SAW" 282 

"HIS  BODY  TWISTING  IN  CONVULSIONS  "  .  288 

"  FOR  A  SECOND  THE  BOAT  STOOD  ON  ONE  END  "  304 


ON  BOARD  A  WHALER 


ON   BOARD  A  WHALER 


CHAPTER  I 


INTRODUCTION 


IN  the  spring  of  1868,  while  yet  a  boy  in  my 
eighteenth  year,  I  was  living  at  Mattapoisett, 
on  the  shores  of  Buzzard's  Bay.  My  ancestors 
were  among  the  founders  of  the  Plymouth  colony, 
and  many  of  them  had  at  some  previous  time  been 
engaged  in  the  whale  fishery.  A  considerable  fleet 
of  whalers  had  once  sailed  from  our  little  port;  but 
during  the  Civil  War  the  rebel  Alabama  captured 
and  burned  most  of  it,  and  the  industry  was  fast 
becoming  a  tradition  among  us.  There  were,  how- 
ever, still  many  retired  seamen  living  in  the  town 
who  were  fond  of  relating  their  experiences,  and 
my  first  and  most  pleasing  recollections  are  of  tales 
told  by  them. 

It  was  after  listening  to  an  account  of  the  capture 


2  On  Board  a  Whaler 

of  a  sperm  whale,  told  by  my  own  uncle,  with  all 
the  enthusiastic  imagination  of  a  true  sailor,  that  I 
formed  the  resolution  to  take  part  in  such  scenes  as 
he  had  depicted ;  and,  not  permitting  time  to  cool 
my  ardor,  rushed  home  to  announce: 

**  Mother,  I  'm  going  whaling." 

"  Mercy,  Tom!  M 

'*  What  do  yeh  say  ?  Don't  yeh  think  yeh  can 
get  me  ready  to  sail  by  next  week  ?  Macy  Bow- 
man 's  going  then,  and  I  mean  to  ship  with  him,  if 
I  can." 

My  mother  stared  vacantly  beyond  me  for  a 
moment,  and  then  burst  out  with: 

"  It  's  all  Charle's  work.  He  's  been  telling  you 
some  more  of  his  nonsense  about  whales.  I  '11 
warrant  he  did  n't  say  a  word  about  the  rusty  pork, 
the  wormy  bread,  the  dreadful  water,  the  cock- 
roaches, and  all  the  —  dear,  dear,  I  've  no  patience 
with  him!  He  ought  to  know  better  than  to  put 
such  notions  into  boys'  heads!  " 

By  this  time  my  mother's  eyes  shone  and  her 
cheeks  flushed  as  they  seldom  did ;  and  it  was  quite 
as  well  for  my  uncle  that  he  was  absent.  Her 
anger  lasted  but  a  moment,  when  she  turned  to  me 
with  a  softer  look,  to  say : 

"  I  am  sorry  you  have  got  the  whaling  fever;  but 
you  had  better  talk  it  over  with  father." 

She  left  me  and  returned  to  her  work. 


Introduction  3 

At  noon,  after  we  had  gathered  at  table,  and  my 
father's  face  commenced  to  show  the  effects  of  a 
filling  stomach,  I  approached  the  subject  uppermost 
in  my  mind  abruptly: 

41  Father,  Frank  Crosby  and  one  or  two  other 
boys  have  shipped  with  Macy  Bowman  to  go  whal- 
ing— they  go  next  week.  I  have  been  thinking  for 
a  good  while  about  going  myself,  and  now  I  want 
to  go  with  them.  In  fact,  I  have  made  up  my 
mind  to  follow  the  sea.     Can't  I  ship  with  Macy  ?" 

My  father  glanced  across  the  table  at  mother. 
She  nodded  gravely,  and  said  quietly: 

"  He  has  not  seemed  well  since  he  left  school. 
Mebbe  it  will  do  him  good  to  go  once.'" 

My  father  finished  his  meal  before  speaking. 
Then  he  crossed  his  knife  and  fork  in  front  of  him 
on  his  plate,  wiped  his  mouth  slowly  with  his  nap- 
kin, pushed  partly  back  from  the  table,  and  looked 
at  me  steadily  for  a  moment.     At  last  he  spoke : 

M  I  see  you  have  made  up  your  mind,  Tom  ? " 

"  Yes,  sir.  I  shall  certainly  go  some  time,  and 
would  like  to  begin  now." 

He  remained  silent  another  minute,  during  which 
my  heart-beats  were  almost  audible,  and  then  de- 
cided the  matter.  "  Well,  I  guess  you  '11  have  to 
go  then.  So  far  as  I  know,  there  is  just  one  cure 
for  your  disease,  and  that  's  a  voyage.  It  's  a 
miserable,  dog  kind  of  life,  and  before  you  've  been 


4  On  Board  a  Whaler 

out  two  days  you  '11  wish  you  were  at  home;  but 
no  boy  ever  got  over  the  whaling  fever  until  he  had 
had  it  out." 

He  folded  his  napkin  and  laid  it  beside  his  plate, 
and,  remarking  that  he  would  see  Macy  about  it, 
went  out. 

The  matter  was  quickly  arranged.  I  was  to  ship 
on  the  Grace  Lathrop,  of  Provincetown,  for  an 
eighteen-month  voyage  on  the  Atlantic,  at  the  hun- 
dred and  twentieth  lay — by  the  term  "  lay  "  being 
meant  that  my  compensation  for  services  would  be 
the  hundred  and  twentieth  part  of  whatever  should 
be  caught  or  secured  by  the  vessel  on  the  voyage. 

The  vessel  was  to  start  in  a  few  days,  and  my 
mother  set  about  making  the  needed  preparations. 
A  large  wooden  "  sea-chest  "  was  provided  for  me, 
into  which  she  packed  a  great  number  of  useful 
things.  Among  them  were  blue  woollen  shirts; 
white-tipped,  blue  home-made  socks;  low  shoes 
that  required  no  lacing  and  could  be  kicked  off; 
an  oilskin  suit  —  coat,  pantaloons,  and  tarpaulin  — 
for  wet  weather;  a  cloth  case  of  needles,  pins,  but- 
tons, scissors,  thimble,  thread,  and  patches,  for 
mending  my  clothes;  a  tin  pan,  iron  spoon,  two- 
tined  fork,  and  sheath-knife  to  eat  with ;  my  school 
books,  two  or  three  magazines,  and  a  small  Bible; 
and,  finally,  a  frosted  fruit-cake,  contributed  by  my 
aunt,  Arethusa  Hall.      The  chest  was  packed  and 


Introduction  5 

unpacked  many  times,  each  time  to  add  some  for- 
gotten article  deemed  necessary  by  my  mother; 
and,  during  all  the  proceedings,  I  stood  around  in 
the  way,  frenzied  to  exultation  over  the  prospect 
of  such  a  voyage. 

At  last  we  gathered  at  the  railroad  station,  await- 
ing the  train  to  take  us  to  Provincetown.  In  all, 
there  were  five  of  us :  Mr.  Bowman,  who  was  to  sail 
as  mate;  William  Nye,  going  as  boat-steerer;  Abra- 
ham Kenney,  destined  to  act  as  cook;  Frank 
Crosby  and  myself,  both  green  hands. 

I  had  bid  my  parents  good-bye  at  the  house,  but 
a  number  of  my  boy  friends  went  with  me  to  the 
depot;  and,  just  as  we  were  about  to  board  a  car, 
one  of  them,  David  Cannon,  who  had  taken  the 
cure  himself,  whispered  in  my  ear: 

"  If  you  want  to  get  along  easy,  Tom,  obey 
orders  and  move  quick." 

As  we  whirled  along  toward  Wareham  that  morn- 
ing, and  at  intervals  for  long  after,  those  words  kept 
ringing  in  my  ears.  No  advice  could  have  been 
more  fitting,  or,  luckily,  have  been  better  followed. 

At  dusk  that  evening,  after  a  tedious  ride  the 
length  of  Cape  Cod,  with  nothing  in  sight  but  sand, 
sand,  sand,  we  reached  our  destination  ;  and,  having 
signed  the  papers  of  the  vessel  that  were  to  evidence 
our  contracts  and  make  us  members  of  the  crew,  all 
but  Mr.  Bowman  were  at  once  ordered  on  board. 


6  On  Board  a  Whaler 

The  vessel,  a  rather  small  two-masted  craft  of  the 
sort  known  as  a  "  hermaphrodite"  brig,  lay  an- 
chored away  from  the  wharves  out  in  the  harbor, 
not  quite  ready  for  sea.  We  were  taken  off  to  her 
in  an  old  whale-boat  by  some  of  the  town  people, 
arriving  alongside  shortly  after  dark. 

For  a  week  my  brain  had  been  teeming  with 
visions  of  whales,  bananas,  the  sea,  the  whole  host 
of  things  that,  excluding  everything  real  in  life,  go 
to  make  up  the  panorama  of  delights  in  the  imagina- 
tion of  boys,  and  my  mind  was  still  busy  with  them, 
when  some  one  from  the  deck  above  us  suddenly 
asked : 

"Who  's  there?" 

"  We  've  brung  some  o'  y'r  crew,  suh,"  answered 
a  boatman. 

A  rope  came  dangling  down  into  the  boat,  and 
there  came  the  gruff  command : 

M  Wa-al,  tumble  aboard  here,  then." 

The  speaker  was  a  man  of  kindly  instincts,  one 
who  never  once  upon  the  subsequent  voyage  de- 
scended to  ruffianism,  yet  this  simple  order  turned 
the  current  of  my  thoughts  to  the  right  about.  I 
instantly  understood  that,  with  the  flow  of  the  ink 
from  the  pen  on  shore,  my  liberty  had  been  surren- 
dered. I  was  no  longer  in  any  sense  my  own 
master.  Of  the  lowest  rank  on  the  brig,  I  should 
be  subject   to   every   whim    and  caprice  of  many 


Introduction  7 

superiors,  and  required  to  obey  orders  and  move 
quick,  or  expect  trouble. 

This  new  light  upon  the  situation  aroused  an  in- 
stinctive opposition  that  caused  me  to  hesitate  a 
moment  after  the  other  boys  had  all  climbed  to  the 
deck.  I  continued  sitting  in  a  revery  so,  until  the 
voice  of  the  officer  above  me  came,  a  pitch  higher  in 
key: 

V  Come!     Git  a  move  on  yeh,  down  there." 

This  brought  me  back  to  life,  and,  seizing  the 
rope,  I  clambered  briskly  up. 

"  'Sleep  ?" 

"  No,  sir;  thinking,"  I  replied. 

M  Wa-al,  if  I  was  you,  guess  I  would  n't  do  much 
o'  that.  It  '11  be  bad  for  y'r  head,  mebbe,"  the 
officer  advised,  not  ill-naturedly. 

The  boatmen  having  secured  lines  around  our 
sea-chests,  we  hoisted  them  on  board,  after  which 
there  was  nothing  for  us  to  do  but  settle  ourselves 
for  the  night.  Nye,  who  ranked  as  an  officer,  went 
into  the  cabin.  Mr.  Brown,  the  second  mate,  who 
had  spoken  to  me,  retired  to  the  quarter-deck. 
Kenney,  Frank,  and  myself  went  at  once  down  into 
the  forecastle. 

The  forecastle,  which  was  to  be  our  home,  was  a 
triangular  room  set  off  in  the  extreme  bow  under 
the  main  deck,  something  like  eighteen  feet  its 
longest  way  and  six  deep,  and  was  reached  through 


8  On  Board  a  Whaler 

a  boxed  gangway  by  means  of  a  narrow  flight  of 
steps.  On  each  side,  fastened  one  above  the  other 
to  the  walls,  and  extending  the  whole  length  of  the 
room,  were  two  rows  of  bunks.  The  first  of  these 
was  raised  about  a  foot  from  the  floor,  and  the 
other  two  feet  six  inches  above  that,  leaving  a  like 
space  between  the  upper  berth  and  the  deck  above 
it.  The  bunks,  the  walls,  the  ceiling,  and  the  floor 
were  all  unpainted,  and  blackened  with  smoke,  oil, 
and  age.  Except  a  small  sperm-oil  lamp  hanging 
upon  a  post  at  the  forward  end  of  the  room,  the 
light  from  which  but  emphasized  the  gloominess  of 
the  place,  there  was  no  furniture  in  the  forecastle. 

The  most  noticeable  thing  about  the  den,  how- 
ever, and  that  which  for  the  time  made  me  oblivious 
of  everything  else  there,  was  its  odor.  It  is  not 
possible  for  one  who  has  never  visited  the  forecastle 
of  an  old  whaler  to  imagine,  nor  is  it  at  all  possible 
for  me  to  describe,  the  stench  that  filled  our  nostrils 
at  the  gangway  that  night.  It  was  not  new  to  me. 
I  had  smelled  it  nine  or  ten  years  before,  on  board- 
ing vessels  coming  in  from  sea  prior  to  the  Civil 
War;  but,  on  those  occasions,  the  greeting  of 
friends,  the  bustle  of  preparations  by  the  crew  for 
going  on  shore,  the  noise  and  excitement  always 
incident  to  such  scenes,  had  combined  to  keep  this 
odor  in  the  background,  and  it  had  failed  to  make 
the   impression   its  pungency  must  have  justified. 


Introduction  9 

Now  I  was  a  tired  boy  seeking  his  bed.  In  the 
silent  darkness  nothing  distracted  my  attention 
from  the  smell.  It  came  suddenly,  when  my  mind 
was  alertly  curious  concerning  our  quarters,  and 
ready  to  absorb  the  fullest  measure  of  information 
about  them. 

As  this  combination  of  bilge -water  and  dead 
things  forced  itself  upon  my  nostrils,  a  second  re- 
vulsion of  feeling  suddenly  overwhelmed  me  with  a 
sense  of  degradation,  and  I  longed  for  my  own 
room  at  home,  with  its  white  walls,  its  carpeted 
floor,  its  spotless  bed,  but,  more  than  all,  with  its 
pure  air. 

"  I  '11  be  down  in  a  minute,"  I  said  to  Frank,  who 
was  preceding  me,  and  retreated  to  hide  my  emotions. 

The  cool  night  breeze  having  restored  me,  I  went 
down  into  the  place  and  found  Frank  standing  in 
the  middle  of  the  room,  his  face  telling  tales  of  a 
weakness  like  my  own. 

'■  Vile!  "  I  suggested. 

"  Hain't  it!  "  he  exclaimed. 

Then  we  grasped  hands  and  stood  for  a  moment 
looking  each  other  in  the  face. 

"  We  've  b'en  fools,  I  guess;  but  the  's  no  use 
squealin'  now  we  're  here,"  he  said  at  last. 

"  No;  we  've  spilt  the  milk,"  I  agreed. 

And  our  friendship  was  cemented  thus  for  the 
entire  voyage. 


io  On  Board  a  Whaler 

We  were  but  a  few  minutes  getting  our  chests 
down  and  arranged  in  front  of  the  bunks  we  ex- 
pected to  occupy.  The  making  of  the  beds  was  a 
simple  matter  and  soon  done.  The  owners  of  the 
vessel  furnished  nothing  but  the  bunks,  and  each 
of  us  had  brought  three  comforters  and  a  pillow  for 
his  bedding,  which  were  quickly  put  in  place,  and 
we  crawled  in.  We  at  first  reserved  one  comforter 
as  a  cover,  putting  the  other  two  in  the  bottom  of 
the  bunk  as  a  mattress,  but  before  we  went  to  sleep 
we  added  the  cover  to  the  mattress.  The  den  was 
warm  enough  for  comfort  without  the  cover,  but 
the  boards  under  us  were  made  of  oak. 

The  horrible  smell,  the  rustling  "  clink-clink- 
clink  "  of  the  water  outside,  the  stuffiness  of  the 
air,  the  snoring  of  Kenney,  who  fell  at  once  to 
sleep,  and  the  novelty  of  the  situation,  kept  me 
awake  for  along  time;  and  for  some  hours  I  could 
hear  Frank  rolling  and  tossing  in  his  bunk.  To- 
ward morning,  I  floated  away  into  a  hideous  dream- 
land, from  which  I  came  back  to  find  it  broad  day. 

As  I  looked  out  of  my  bunk,  a  stream  of  sunlight 
was  pouring  down  through  the  open  gangway;  and, 
having  become  used  to  the  smell,  the  outlook 
seemed  much  more  cheerful  to  me  than  it  had  the 
night  before. 

Kenney  had  long  since  betaken  himself  to  his 
cook-house;  but  Frank,  who  lay  stretching  in  his 


Introduction  1 1 

bunk  opposite  me,  returned  my  smile  and  called 
cheerily : 

"  Hullo,  Tom!     'Live?" 

"  Yee-e-e-ah!  "  I  answered  in  a  yawn. 

M  How  'd  y'r  bed  go  ?" 

M  Well,  't  want  feathers." 

He  got  on  to  his  elbows  and  looked  up  toward 
the  deck.  "  Wonder  when  we  have  got  to  git  up 
aboard  here  ?  What  time  do  yeh  'spect  't  is,  any- 
how ?  " 

"  Dunno.  I  've  had  enough  o'  this.  Let  's  get 
up." 

So  we  rolled  out  of  the  bunks  to  dress. 

We  had  worn  our  ordinary  shore  clothes  on  com- 
ing aboard ;  but  now  we  put  them  away  and  donned 
the  woollen  shirts,  pantaloons,  and  belt  commonly 
worn  by  seamen.  Then,  each  grinning  at  the  odd 
appearance  of  the  other,  we  went  up  on  deck. 

Mr.  Brown  was  standing  near  the  gangway,  evi- 
dently expecting  us. 

M  Where  do  we  wash,  sir  ? "  asked  Frank, 
abruptly. 

The  officer's  jaw  dropped,  and  he  stood  looking 
from  one  to  the  other  of  us  for  half  a  minute. 
Then,  his  mouth  twitching  in  time  with  a  pair  of 
mirthful  eyes,  he  stepped  behind  a  square  brick 
structure,  and  presently  came  back  with  a  deck 
bucket,  spliced  on  to  a  rope.     "  Here  's  y'r  bath, 


12  On  Board  a  Whaler 

my  lad,"  he  chuckled.  M  Yeh  '11  find  plenty  o' 
fresh  water  over  the  side.  We  use  shirt-sleeves, 
mos'ly,  for  towels;  and,  if  yeh  want  soap, — wa-al, 
prob'bly  yeh  've  gut  some  yeh  won't  use  more  'n 
once,  that  's  all." 

He  turned  then,  as  if  to  leave  us,  but,  on  second 
thought,  came  back  to  us.  "When  yeh  've  had  y'r 
grub,  take  some  brooms  an'  scrub  off  the  deck  a  bit. 
Guess  yeh  may  's  well  turn  to  fust  as  last." 

As  a  plunge  bath,  sea  water  is  refreshing,  but  for 
toilet  purposes  it  is  a  flat  failure.  We  did  the  best 
we  could  with  it,  and  went  below  to  finish  up. 

We  had  combed  our  hair  and  adjusted  our  sheath- 
knives  before  Kenney  called  to  us  from  the  deck : 

"  Kid,  here." 

To  avoid  a  display  of  ignorance  as  to  the  meaning 
of  this  announcement,  I  stepped  up  the  gangway 
stairs  to  see  what  was  wanted,  when  Kenney  passed 
to  me  a  small  wooden  tub  containing  our  breakfast. 

'T  ain't  buckwheat  cakes  'n'  honey,  exactly,"  he 
remarked,  with  a  leer  and  a  tone  that  made  it  diffi- 
cult for  me  not  to  hit  him. 

I  controlled  my  temper  and  took  the  kid  be- 
low, contenting  myself  with  suggesting  to  Frank, 
"We'll  have  to  punch  that  fellow  before  we  get 
through." 

"  Sure.  No  dodgin'  that,"  he  assented.  "  Pete 
Barstow  told    me  they  had  to,   the  time   Kenney 


Introduction  13 

sailed  with  him."  In  the  meantime  he  had  com- 
pleted an  examination  of  the  contents  of  the  tub, 
and  continued:  M  No,  Kenney, —  not  by  a  blamed 
long-short  't  ain't  flapjacks  an'  honey.  Yeh  told 
the  truth  that  time,"  he  commented. 

We  got  out  our  pans,  tin  cups,  and  iron  forks, 
and,  placing  the  kid  between  us,  sat  down  to  our 
first  meal  on  board  ship. 

"  Le'  's  see,"  said  Frank,  meditatively.  M  Here  's 
four  taters  —  even  two  apiece  —  skins  on  'em  an' 
never  washed,  nuther.  No  salt,  ner  gravy.  Oh! 
here  yeh  are."  He  pulled  something  from  under 
the  hardtack  in  the  bottom  of  the  tub.  "  Here  's 
some  butter,  by  jinks!  Say,  that  is  butter,  ain't 
it  ?  "  he  asked,  after  sniffing  at  it. 

"  Whew!  Mebbe  7  was  once,"  I  replied,  hav- 
ing tasted  the  stuff. 

He  raised  a  bit  of  it  on  the  end  of  his  sheath- 
knife  and  smelled  it  again.  "  Talk  about  maggoty 
cheese  walkin  !  Huh!  that  's  nuthiri .  This  c'n 
fly  !  "  He  laid  the  butter  all  on  my  side  of  the  kid. 
**  You  'd  better  eat  that,  Tom,  so  's  to  git  good  'n 
strong,"  he  continued.  "  I  heard  y'r  mother  tellin' 
mine  y'r  stomach  was  weak  an'  she  was  goin'  ter  let 
yeh  come  to  cure  yeh — guess  that  '11  fix  yeh  out. 
I  b'lieve  I  'm  pretty  well,  thank  yeh.  Take  it  all. 
Don't  be  bashful — y'r  welcome  to  it." 

"  It 's  a  good  thing  they  got  that  kind,  though," 


14  On  Board  a  Whaler 

I  added.     "  The  old  tub  can't  sink  so  long  's  we  've 
got  plenty  o'  this  aboard,  yeh  know." 

So,  like  old  seamen,  we  grumbled  our  way 
through  the  meal,  discarding  the  potatoes,  the 
butter,  and  the  bitter  black  coffee,  but  eating  with 
keen  relish  the  hardtack,  of  which  there  was  plenty. 
In  the  end,  we  were  not  in  an  unhappy  mood,  and, 
in  accordance  with  our  instructions,  went  merrily 
up  to  scrub  the  deck.  We  were  but  boys,  with  the 
feelings  of  boys. 


CHAPTER  II 

ORGANIZING 

IT  took  but  a  few  minutes,  under  the  supervision 
of  Nye,  to  wash  down  the  decks.  He  drew  the 
water  up  from  over  the  side  in  a  bucket  and  swashed 
it  along  the  planks,  while,  working  with  a  will,  we 
followed  after  him  with  our  brooms.  Then  we 
drew  up  more  water  and  rinsed  off  the  dirt.  It  was 
novel  work  for  us,  and  we  rather  liked  to  do  it. 
When  it  was  all  done  we  were  left  at  liberty  to  look 
about  us  until  the  rest  of  the  crew  came  on  board. 

The  brig  was  a  fine  little  craft  of  about  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  tons,  newly  rigged  and  equipped  for 
the  voyage.  Except  for  a  narrow  strip  of  white 
about  half-way  up  the  side  from  her  water-line,  the 
hull  was  painted  coal  black.  Her  name  stood 
boldly  out  in  gilt  letters  under  the  stern-rail,  and 
the  white-robed  figure  of  a  woman  lent  beauty 
to  the  bow.  In  model  she  was  a  clipper,  and, 
with  her  tall,  rakish  masts,  she  had  a  yacht-like 
look  about  her  unusual  to  vessels  in  her  class.     A 


1 6  On  Board  a  Whaler 

topgallantsail,  foretopsail,  and  foresail  were  neatly- 
furled  on  the  yards  hanging  from  the  foremast;  a 
huge  spanker  was  snugly  tied  up  along  the  big 
boom  suspended  from  the  mainmast;  and  out  on 
the  bowsprit  in  front  was  a  staysail,  a  jib,  and  a 
flying-jib.  She  was  further  provided  with  a  num- 
ber of  special  sails  which  could  be  rigged  on  in 
case  of  need,  but  which  were  to  be  kept  out  of 
sight  in  the  hold  on  common  occasions. 

In  the  hold  of  the  vessel,  beside  the  necessary 
food  supplies  for  such  a  voyage,  there  were  stored 
extra  ropes  and  canvas  for  repairs  of  the  rigging 
and  sails,  and  a  great  variety  of  other  equipments 
for  the  business  we  were  going  upon,  among  which 
were  casks,  now  filled  with  water,  sufficient  in  size 
and  number  to  hold  about  five  hundred  barrels  of 
the  oil  we  hoped  to  get.  Thus  laden,  she  sat  on 
the  water  like  a  loaded  merchantman,  but,  unlike 
the  merchantman,  as  her  real  cargo  would  be  taken 
on  board,  she  would  rise  rather  than  settle  under 
the  weight. 

On  deck,  beginning  at  the  bow,  was  a  windlass 
for  hoisting  anchors,  casks,  blubber,  or  anything 
too  heavy  to  be  lifted  by  hands  or  ordinary  tackle; 
behind  the  foremast  was  the  try  works,  of  which 
more  must  be  said  later  on ;  then  came  the  galley, 
or  cook-house  of  the  cook,  a  small  wooden  affair, 
securely  lashed  to  iron  rings  in  the  deck;  while  two 


Organizing  17 

thirds  of  the  way  from  the  bow  to  the  stern,  came 
the  quarter-deck,  the  special  walking  ground  of  the 
officers,  raised  nearly  three  feet  above  the  main- 
deck,  and  mounted  to  on  each  side  by  wooden 
steps. 

A  stairway  led  down  into  the  cabin  from  the  main- 
deck,  and  another  led  from  the  cabin  up  through  a 
gangway  to  the  quarter-deck,  a  little  to  the  left  and 
front  of  the  steering-gear.  Over  the  centre  of  the 
cabin  —  in  which  the  officers  slept  and  ate  —  and 
raised  several  feet  higher  than  the  quarter-deck, 
was  a  glass  house  or  skylight,  and  just  back  of  that, 
immediately  in  front  of  the  wheel,  was  a  glass  case 
in  which  was  hung  a  compass. 

The  wheel  was  a  nearly  perfect  piece  of  mechan- 
ism, by  means  of  which  a  child  could  steer  the 
vessel,  except  in  the  roughest  kind  of  weather. 

Suspended  from  slender  iron  davits,  two  on  the 
left  and  one  on  the  right  hand  side  of  the  brig, 
were  three  whale-boats,  each  about  thirty  feet  in 
length  and  six  feet  wide,  the  description  of  which 
will  be  deferred. 

In  every  way  the  little  vessel  was  well  adapted 
and  equipped  for  the  trip  to  be  taken. 

About  noon,  the  captain  came  on  board  with  Mr. 
Bowman,  and  a  little  later  the  rest  of  the  crew 
arrived. 

In  all,  there  were  now  twenty-three  men  on  board : 


1 8  On  Board  a  Whaler 

the  captain,  first  and  second  mates,  three  boat- 
steerers  (harpooners),  a  steward,  a  cook,  and  fifteen 
foremast  hands.  We  had  no  regular  carpenter  or 
cooper,  but  the  officers  were  all  capable  of  doing 
the  necessary  work. 

All  of  the  foremast  hands  were  boys,  and 
Yankees.  The  oldest  among  us  was  only  twenty- 
two.  One  bright  young  fellow,  who  gave  his  name 
as  Johnson,  had  run  away  from  home  to  come, 
bringing  with  him  nothing  but  the  clothes  he  wore. 
Two  boys  from  Boston  represented  the  rougher 
element  of  Yankeedom,  but  proved  companionable 
though  hardly  so  reliable  as  the  others.  The  offi- 
cers, too,  except  a  Portuguese  steward,  all  hailed 
from  New  England.  The  cook  and  the  foremast 
hands  were  quartered  together  in  the  forecastle ;  all 
the  others  belonged  in  the  cabin. 

It  was  necessary  to  organize  this  crew.  This  is 
usually  done  after  the  anchor  has  been  weighed 
and  the  ship  is  under  way ;  but  we  were  not  ready 
to  sail,  and,  there  being  nothing  else  to  be  done 
while  we  waited,  a  summons  was  sent  to  us  to  come 
aft  for  the  purpose. 

The  captain  and  both  mates  stood  at  the  forward 
end  of  the  quarter-deck  as  we  obeyed  and  arranged 
ourselves  facing  the  officers  on  the  main  -  deck 
below. 

•*  We  '11  choose  the  watches  fust,  and  afterwards 


Organizing  19 

the  boats'  crews,"  the  captain  announced.  "  Them 
as  b'longs  to  the  starb'rd  watch  '11  stand  over  on 
this  side,  and  them  as  is  took  for  t'other  watch  '11 
git  on  the  hatch  there,  soon  's  they  're  chosen." 

The  mates  then  began  choosing  alternately  from 
among  us  the  men  to  be  under  their  special  com- 
mands. 

To  avoid  collisions  and  insure  safety  and  speedy 
passages,  it  is  necessary  to  have  some  one  always 
on  the  deck  of  a  ship  at  sea.  Hence,  certain  hours 
are  set  apart,  during  which  this  or  that  officer  has 
charge  of  the  deck.  These  periods  are  called 
watches — "  starboard"  and  "larboard  "  (or"  port") 
— for  convenience.  The  men  chosen  for  service 
during  the  periods  of  time  constitute  the  members 
of  the  respective  watches,  and  are  required  to  be  on 
deck  and  ready  for  work  in  the  allotted  hours. 

The  first  watch  began  with  us  that  afternoon  at 
four  o'clock  and  continued  until  six,  when  it  was 
succeeded  by  the  other  watch,  which  ended  at 
eight.  After  that,  the  members  of  each  watch  were 
alternately  on  duty  four  hours  at  a  time  until  four 
o'clock  the  next  afternoon,  when  the  short  "  dog  " 
watches  came  once  more.  In  this  manner  the  hours 
of  service  for  each  half  of  the  crew  were  shifted 
daily,  those  going  on  duty  at  eight  o'clock  in  the 
evening  of  one  day,  beginning  at  midnight  on  the 
next. 


20  On  Board  a  Whaler 

Except  when  engaged  in  the  actual  chase  or  cut- 
ting in  of  whales  after  that,  these  watches  were 
maintained  pretty  steadily  with  us  throughout  the 
voyage. 

The  mate,  having  the  first  choice,  took  Frank; 
the  second  mate  followed,  choosing  Johnson  ;  then, 
much  to  my  satisfaction,  I  became  a  member  of  the 
mate's  watch.  So  it  went,  until  all  the  foremast 
hands  had  been  assigned  places. 

When  it  came  to  a  choice  of  men  to  go  in  the 
boats,  a  shock  was  in  store  for  me.  Only  the 
strongest  and  seemingly  most  courageous  men  were 
likely  to  be  selected  for  these  positions.  As  it  is 
fair  to  suppose  is  the  case  with  the  dreams  of  most 
boys,  up  to  that  moment,  in  all  my  visions  of  whale 
chasing,  I  had  myself  been  the  central  figure.  The 
money  feature  of  the  voyage  had  never  entered  my 
head.  I  had  come  on  this  trip  for  no  other  purpose 
than  to  take  part  in  conflicts  with  fighting  whales; 
and  it  was  my  supreme  ambition,  at  some  time,  to 
deal  death-inflicting  blows  upon  these  monsters  of 
the  ocean.  It  had  never  once  occurred  to  me  that 
there  was  a  possibility  of  my  not  going  out  in  the 
boats.  Now  my  heart  leaped  to  my  throat.  Of  all 
that  crew  I  was  the  shortest,  and,  apparently,  the 
puniest.  What  hope  was  there  of  my  being  chosen 
to  go  in  a  boat ! 

Our  captain  was  a  liberal  man,  and  the  second 


Organizing  2 1 

mate  was  given  the  first  choice,  the  mate  the 
second,  and  the  captain,  who  was  himself  to  take 
charge  of  a  boat,  took  the  last. 

As  I  had  anticipated,  each  in  turn  selected  the 
best  looking  piece  of  muscle  and  pluck  in  sight; 
and,  as  had  also  been  foreseen  by  me,  I  found  my- 
self at  the  tail  end.  Each  officer  had  in  his  turn 
chosen  a  bow  oarsman,  a  midship  oarsman,  and  a 
tub  oarsman,  leaving  only  the  after  oarsman  to  be 
selected  from  among  six  remaining  boys. 

My  mind  becomes  hazy  as  it  endeavors  to  recall 
the  succeeding  seconds.  Mr.  Brown  selects  his 
man — two  chances  left,  with  five  candidates,  myself 
the  smallest.  My  heart  is  pumping,  pumping, 
pumping,  as  I  await  the  choice  of  Mr.  Bowman, 
who,  if  for  no  other  reason  than  friendship  to  my 
father,  I  think  should  choose  me.  But,  in  his  de- 
sire to  pick  the  best,  he  overlooks  me  and  takes 
another.  Then  I  brace  myself,  determining  not  to 
act  the  baby.  The  captain  looks  at  me  and  whis- 
pers to  Mr.  Bowman.  Mr.  Bowman  nods  and  says 
something  quite  inaudible  to  me.  The  captain 
looks  the  other  boys  over  carefully,  comes  down 
from  the  quarter-deck  and  feels  of  my  arms  and 
back,  returns,  hesitates,  and  then  announces: 

"I  '11  take  the  little  feller  with  the  specks. 
What  's  y'r  name,  ma  lad  ?  " 

1  Tom !  "  I  cry,  and  am  in  heaven. 


22  On  Board  a  Whaler 

The  next  thing  Frank's  voice  sounds  in  my  ear, 
and  he  has  me  by  the  arm  walking  along  forward 
with  me.  "It  's  all  right,  old  feller,"  he  says. 
"  Gosh!  but  I  was  scart  for  yeh !  Wisht  yeh  was 
to  go  in  our  boat,  though." 

The  crew  thus  organized,  the  mate  told  us  his 
watch  would  go  on  duty  at  four  o'clock,  and  dis- 
missed us. 

The  little  tub  shortly  afterwards  appeared  in  the 
forecastle,  this  time  half  full  of  unpeeled  potatoes, 
some  rusty  salt  pork,  plenty  of  hardtack,  and  accom- 
panied by  a  great  pot  of  coffee.  Each  man  got  out 
his  pan,  cup,  and  fork,  and  attacked  the  contents 
of  the  tub  on  his  own  account,  without  waiting  to 
be  helped  or  to  consider  the  wants  of  the  others. 

The  meal  finished,  some  one  proposed  a  division 
of  the  bunks. 

"  All  right,"  spoke  up  a  boy  we  afterwards  knew 
as  Jack.     M  How  many  green  hands  is  the'  ?  " 

There  were  found  to  be  five  of  us — Johnson,  the 
two  Boston  boys,  Frank,  and  myself. 

"  Wa-al,  I  guess  you  fellers  '11  have  to  wait  'til 
we  git  through  pickin',  then,"  said  Jack. 

Frank  warmly  protested  that  we  were  all  alike 
and  ought  to  be  given  an  even  show  in  this  choice 
of  sleeping  places,  but  was  promptly  overruled  by 
Jack. 

**  Dunno  'bout  that.     I  had  ter  take  secont  ch'ice 


Organizing  23 

last  v'yage.  Guess  it  must  be  your  trick  this  turn," 
Jack  declared.  Then  he  went  on  to  say,  in  a  good- 
natured  tone:  "  The'  's  a  nuther  thing,  boys. 
The'  's  jest  sixteen  on  us  as  must  sleep  down  here, 
an'  them  as  knows  how  to  count  '11  see  the'  hain't 
but  twelve  o'  these  here  bunks,  so  the'  's  got  to  be 
some  doublin'  up  'mongst  us,  o'  somebuddy  '11  have 
to  take  the  floor.  The'  hain't  none  o'  these  bunks 
wide  'nough  for  two,  an'  it  follers,  them  as  doubles 
don't  doughter  be  in  the  same  watch.  If  we  don't 
have  to  be  in  at  the  same  lick  we  c'n  git  along  all 
hunky,  but  it  's  agin  human  natur  for  men  to  cord 
up.  So  jest  look  out  fer  that,  when  y'r  choosin' 
mates,  boys." 

Jack  had  his  way,  and  the  "  able  seamen  "  were 
given  first  choice  of  berths.  The  right  was  exer- 
cised in  a  generous  spirit  by  Jack,  however,  who  at 
once  tumbled  his  blankets  into  the  poorest  bunk  in 
the  den ;  and  I  finally  found  myself  ensconced  with 
Johnson  as  my  mate  in  the  best  lighted  and  most 
comfortable  of  the  upper  bunks. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE   START— SEASICKNESS— BLACKFISH 

WE  had  expected  to  get  away  on  the  day  the 
crew  was  organized,  but  the  chronometer 
of  the  brig,  a  timekeeper  without  which  no  naviga- 
tor is  willing  to  go  to  sea,  had  been  sent  to  Boston 
for  repairs,  and  for  some  reason  its  return  had  been 
delayed. 

On  the  next  day  the  clock  arrived,  and  soon  after 
the  doleful  "  Hee-e-e-eve  ho-o-o-oy,  hee-e-e-eve 
ho-o-o-oy  "  that  is  understood  to  lighten  labor  at 
the  windlass  rang  out,  and  in  a  little  while  the 
anchor  was  raised  from  its  bed  of  mud,  the  yards 
were  braced  that  the  sails  might  catch  the  wind, 
and  the  bow  of  the  brig  turned  slowly  out  toward 
the  open  sea. 

It  was  a  beautiful,  bright  June  afternoon  when 
we  started,  and  the  easy,  gliding  motion  of  the  ves- 
sel upon  the  smooth  water  of  the  harbor  was  most 
agreeable. 

Just  what  I  was  called  upon  to  do  during  the 
24 


The  Start — Seasickness — Blackfish  25 

next  hour  or  so,  my  memory  refuses  to  recall;  but 
I  know  I  had  helped  at  the  windlass  about  hoisting 
the  anchor,  and,  as  we  started  to  sea,  I  assisted  in 
lashing  the  anchor  in  its  place  on  the  bow.  After 
that  ?  I  was  rushing  here,  there,  and  yonder  about 
the  decks,  coiling  ropes,  picking  up  rubbish,  and 
all  the  time  bustling  in  obedience  to  orders,  feeling 
myself  very  much  of  a  sailor. 

The  sails,  the  sky,  the  water,  the  land,  all  were 
full  of  new  charms  for  me,  and  I  was  in  a  state  more 
closely  resembling  bliss  than  anything  since  felt, 
until  we  passed  out  of  the  harbor  into  the  open  sea. 
Then  the  breeze  freshened,  and  matters  in  general 
assumed  another  aspect.  In  place  of  the  gentle, 
easy,  slipping  along,  so  soothing  and  enjoyable  to 
us,  the  vessel  now  commenced  tumbling  and  pitch- 
ing about  in  a  manner  which  was  very  disquieting 
to  me.  As  we  rocked  upon  the  long  sweeping  waves 
we  had  come  to,  the  brig  rose  and  sank,  and  her  spars 
swayed  in  a  way  that  sickened  as  well  as  confused 
me.     In  a  second,  the  bliss  had  changed  to  misery. 

It  did  not  so  much  trouble  me  when  the  vessel 
rose,  but  when  she  commenced  settling,  and  went 
down,  down,  down,  into  the  deep  troughs,  there 
came  a  feeling  of  "  all  goneness"  and  a  watery 
condition  of  the  mouth  that  alarmed  me. 

I  knew  well  enough  the  meaning  of  these  symp- 
toms, and  paced  the  deck  furiously  for  some  time, 


26  On  Board  a  Whaler 

anxiously  fighting  it  off;  but  at  last  it  became 
necessary  for  me  to  rush  to  the  lee  railing,  and 
what  remained  of  my  last  meal  went  to  the  fishes. 

From  that  moment,  for  nearly  a  month,  I  suffered 
from  constant  seasickness.  The  other  boys  were 
generally  affected  by  the  disease,  but  within  a  day 
or  two  all  had  recovered  but  me.  My  misery  con- 
tinued unabated. 

The  entire  crew,  from  the  captain  down,  were 
most  considerate  and  kind,  and  Frank  and  Johnson, 
especially,  were  unremitting  in  their  attentions  and 
care  for  me  during  the  whole  time.  Every  remedy 
known  on  board  and  available  was  in  turn  tried; 
food  was  brought  to  me  from  the  cabin  only  to  be 
rejected  ;  blankets  were  spread  for  me  in  the  bright- 
est and  warmest  spots  on  the  decks.  It  was  all 
useless,  and  I  was  reduced  to  a  mere  skeleton, 
careless  of  living  longer,  when  one  day  some  one 
cried  from  aloft: 

"  Thar  she  blo-o-o-ows — thar  she  blo-o-o-ows!  M 

"  Where  away  ? "  the  captain  shouted. 

"  Dead  astern,  sir,"  came  the  answer. 

Then  the  second  mate  announced  from  the  main 
masthead : 

"It  's  a  school  o'  blackfish,  suh.  'Bout  two 
miles  off,  I  guess." 

"  Man  the  boats,"  next  rang  out. 

In  an  instant  every  man  was  scrambling  for  his 


The  Start — Seasickness — Blackfish  27 

place ;  and,  sick  as  I  was,  I  commenced  crawling  to 
mine. 

The  captain  caught  sight  of  me,  and  ordered 
Kenney  to  help  me  along  to  the  boat;  and,  with 
the  cook's  assistance,  I  managed  to  climb  into  it. 

M  Now,  git  in  y'rself,"  the  captain  said  to  the 
cook.  "  Guess  yeh  '11  do  well  'nough  for  black- 
fish."     So  Kenney  got  into  the  boat  after  me. 

"  All  ready,  suh,"  announced  Jim,  the  boat- 
steerer. 

"  Lower  away,"  said  the  captain  quietly,  and 
the  boat  dropped  from  its  davits  to  the  water. 

It  was  most  fortunate  for  me  that  we  had  sighted 
blackfish  instead  of  sperm  whales.  The  smaller 
animals  were  of  less  importance,  and,  in  the  hope 
of  curing  him,  the  captain  could  afford  to  encumber 
his  boat  with  a  sick  boy.  Had  the  more  valuable 
whale  been  raised,  some  one  else  would  have  been 
put  in  my  place,  and,  very  likely,  would  have  re- 
tained it  for  the  balance  of  the  voyage.  Thus  do 
little  things  influence  and  control  our  lives. 

The  change  from  the  slow,  heavy  rolling  of  the 
ship,  to  the  light,  quicker  swing  of  the  boat, 
wrought  an  immediate  cure.  The  moment  the 
boat  rested  on  the  water,  that  terrible  nausea  was 
gone.     I  was  well. 

"  I  'm  all  right,  sir.  Wish  I  had  something  to 
eat,"  I  said  to  the  captain. 


28  On  Board  a  Whaler 

He  had  no  time  to  waste,  but  tossed  the  canvas 
bag  of  sea-biscuits  to  me,  and,  giving  the  water-tub 
a  kick  with  his  foot,  left  me  to  help  myself. 

M  Pull,"  he  commanded,  and  the  boat  shot  away 
from  the  brig. 

The  little  craft  was  light,  strong,  swift,  and 
capable  of  breasting  any  sea  off  shore.  Its  regular 
crew  consisted  of  the  captain,  the  boat-steerer,  and 
four  foremast  hands.  The  captain  stood  in  the 
stern  of  the  boat,  steering,  while  the  boat-steerer 
and  foremast  hands  tugged  at  the  oars.  I  was  half 
lying  by  the  tub  of  whale-line  just  behind  the 
thwart  occupied  by  Kenney,  who  was  pulling  my 
oar,  and  opening  the  bag  I  went  at  the  hardtack, 
and  found  it  good. 

In  a  few  minutes,  the  compressed  lips  and  set 
jaws  of  the  master  told  me  we  were  nearing  the 
game.  His  eyes,  too,  became  fixed,  and  he  worked 
the  big  steering-oar  nervously,  swinging  the  boat 
now  to  one  side  and  then  to  the  other,  as  the  course 
of  the  animal  shifted. 

Raising  myself  in  the  boat  to  look  about,  less 
than  the  length  of  the  boat  from  us  and  swimming 
rapidly  in  his  efforts  to  escape,  I  saw  what  seemed 
to  me  to  be  an  enormous  black  whale. 

"  Get  down,  boys,"  the  captain  urged  in  a  whis- 
per, although  it  was  clear  to  me  the  brute  was  well 
aware  of  our  presence. 


The  Start — Seasickness — Blackfish  29 

I  forgot  my  weakened  condition  and  sat  bolt  up- 
right, keenly  watching  everything  about  us. 

There  were  a  dozen  of  the  blackfish  in  sight,  all 
of  them  going  in  a  common  direction ;  and  in  their 
midst  were  our  boats,  each  one  in  pursuit  of  a  single 
animal. 

The  object  of  greatest  interest  to  me  was  the 
whale  immediately  in  front  of  our  boat;  and,  after 
the  first  glance  at  the  others,  my  whole  attention 
centred  upon  him.  We  were  gaining  upon  him, 
but  very  slowly,  as  he  rushed  along  ahead  of  us, 
now  and  then  lifting  his  head  out  for  a  breath,  and 
then  sinking  just  under  the  surface  of  the  water, 
dodging  first  to  one  side  and  then  to  the  other,  but 
closely  followed  at  every  turn  by  us. 

It  was  some  minutes  before  anything  more  was 
said,  during  which  the  men  silently  strained  at  their 
oars,  gradually  overtaking  the  prey.  Then  the 
captain  raised  his  hand  as  a  signal  to  Jim,  and 
whispered, 

"  Stand  up." 

Jim  rested  his  oar  and  stood  up  in  the  bow  of  the 
boat.  A  harpoon  lay  in  front  of  him  in  its  crutch, 
ready  to  his  hand.  The  fish  was  still  going  along 
at  full  speed,  too  far  ahead  to  be  reached  by  the 
weapon ;  and  the  men  continued  to  tug  and  pull  at 
the  oars  like  madmen,  while  the  captain  fairly 
bellowed  at  them : 


30  On  Board  a  Whaler 

"  Git  down  there!  Lay  to  'em — every  mother's 
son  uv  yeh — lay  down  on  'em!  Git  on  ter  y'r  oars 
there  now,  'nflull !  " 

A  few  moments  of  frantic  efforts  by  the  men  fol- 
lowed, during  which  the  boat  seemed  to  lift  in  leaps 
at  every  stroke  of  the  long  sweeps,  until  we  were 
within  ten  feet  of  the  frightened  animal,  when  the 
captain  bawled  at  Jim: 

"  Give  it  to  'im  !  " 

Jim  obeyed,  and  sent  his  whale-iron  straight  into 
the  back  of  the  flying  brute.  Out  came  a  wide 
fluke  from  under  the  bow  of  the  boat,  and  down 
went  the  whale  into  the  depths  below  us.  Out  of 
the  tub  beside  me,  back  to  the  stern  and  around  the 
loggerhead,  thence  forward  and  through  the  chock 
at  the  bow  of  the  boat,  the  line  buzzed  and  whizzed 
as  it  followed  the  game.  Beyond  doubt  we  were 
fast. 

"  Nip  'im  there,"  called  the  master. 

The  bow  oarsman  applied  several  thicknesses  of 
canvas  to  the  line  passing  him,  and  succeeded  in 
checking  its  outward  flow  sufficiently  to  allow  of 
the  captain  getting  a  turn  around  the  post  by  his 
side  at  the  stern  (the  loggerhead).  After  that,  the 
line  ran  out  less  rapidly,  but  still  continued  to  go 
after  the  whale,  slacked  by  the  captain  when  the 
danger  of  the  boat  being  dragged  under  water 
seemed  imminent.     In  that  way  a  steady  pull  was 


THE  CAPTAIN  BAWLED  AT  JIM  :     GIVE  'T  TO  'IM  l> 


The  Start — Seasickness — Blackfish  31 

kept  upon  the  whale,  without  suffering  him  to 
swamp  us. 

After  several  hundred  yards  of  line  had  run  out 
in  this  way  it  stopped,  and  a  few  seconds  later  the 
whale  appeared  again  right  beside  the  boat,  rushing 
straight  into  the  air  fully  six  feet  clear  of  the  water, 
and  falling  back  so  near  that  the  swash  drenched 
every  man  of  us. 

As  the  big  fish  sank  again  under  the  water,  I 
noticed  the  white  face  of  Kenney,  his  eyes  bulging 
from  fear,  and  scrambled  to  the  seat  beside  him. 

"  Give  me  my  oar,"  I  demanded,  and  pushed 
him  back  into  the  place  I  had  left. 

The  captain  smiled,  and  ordered  me  to  coil  the 
line  as  it  was  drawn  in  by  the  men. 

Then  the  line  was  pulled  in  as  fast  as  possible 
until  it  was  made  taut  by  the  fish  on  the  other  end 
of  it;  when  the  captain  held  on  to  it  by  aid  of  a 
turn  around  the  loggerhead,  and  the  next  moment 
we  were  speeding  away  in  tow  of  the  whale. 

We  went  in  this  manner  for  perhaps  two  minutes, 
when  the  captain  passed  the  line  he  was  holding  to 
me,  saying, 

"  Jest  hang  on  to  that  'til  I  tell  yeh  ter  slack." 

So,  while  he  leisurely  filled  his  pipe  for  a  smoke, 
I  hung  on  to  the  line,  and  we  continued  to  go. 

After  the  first  dive  most  whales  remain  on  the 
surface  until  they  are  killed ;  but  this  whale  proved 


32  On  Board  a  Whaler 

an  exception  to  the  rule,  and  presently  sounded  a 
second  time. 

Hearing  no  order  to  slack  the  line,  I  held  on  to 
it  with  all  my  strength,  and  in  a  second  the  bow  of 
the  boat  was  under  water,  while  we  were  following 
the  blackfish  toward  bottom. 

To  save  the  boat,  it  was  only  necessary  to  slack 
the  line,  but  no  one  thought  of  giving  me  the 
order;  and  one  of  the  men  back  of  me,  seeing  the 
boat  about  to  go  down,  solved  the  problem  by 
slashing  the  line  with  his  knife,  and  the  whale  was 
free. 

"  Why  'n  tarnation  did  n't  yeh  slack  ?  "  the  cap- 
tain roared  at  me. 

"  I  was  waiting  orders,  sir,"  I  answered  stoutly. 

He  stared  at  me  for  a  single  instant,  and  then 
his  face  relaxed  into  a  smile.  "  That  's  one  on 
me,"  he  admitted.  "  Wa-al,  next  time  you  jest 
slack,  orders  o'  no  orders.  I  'm  a  givin'  yeh  y'r 
orders  right  now.  Yeh  need  n't  wait  for  no  orders 
— you  slack."  And  a  minute  later  he  grumbled: 
"  Yeh  'd  doughter  known  enough  to  've  slacked, 
anyhow." 

I  had  sense  e  ugh  to  hold  my  tongue,  and, 
although  the  cut  hurt,  it  was  presently  cured  by  his 
saying  more  kindly:  "  '  Obey  orders  if  yeh  break 
owners  '  may  be  a  good  'nough  sayin',  and  I  s'pose 
yeh  've  heard  it;  but  there  's  exceptions  to  it,  ma 


The  Start — Seasickness — Blackfish  33 

lad, — there  's  exceptions  to  it,  and  that  was  one  of 
'em,  I  guess." 

Two  of  the  school  had  been  killed  by  the  other 
boats;  and,  by  dint  of  some  hard  work  at  the  wind- 
lass, both  were  hauled  to  the  deck  of  the  brig. 

As  they  lay  there,  albeit  they  were  the  smallest 
species  of  whale  aside  from  the  porpoise  that  we 
were  to  see  on  the  voyage,  these  animals  seemed 
monsters  to  me. 

In  addition  to  their  great  size,  there  are  several 
things  about  the  whale  tribe  that  attract  and  hold 
the  attention  of  the  ordinary  man.  Thus,  they  all 
breath  air  through  at  least  one  nostril  opening  at 
the  top  of  the  head,  and  puff  it  out  again  so  mixed 
with  water  as  to  look  like  spray  ;  their  blood  is  warm 
and  red;  their  skins  are  remarkably  thin  and 
smooth,  and  usually  have  an  inside  coating  like  in- 
verted fur ;  deep  down  within  their  bodies  are  found 
the  rudiments  of  legs  as  well  as  arms;  and  their 
tails  (flukes),  instead  of  standing  erect  in  the  water 
like  those  of  most  fishes,  are  carried  flatwise,  parallel 
with  the  surface. 

However  much  the  different  species  of  whales 
may  vary  in  other  respects,  in  the  matters  enumer- 
ated they  are  sure  to  present  a  common  likeness. 

The  largest  of  these  blackfish  was  probably  fifteen 
feet  long,  and  he  must  have  weighed  more  than  a 
ton.     With  a  head  so  bluntly  rounded  as  to  cause 


34  On  Board  a  Whaler 

wonder  at  his  speed  when  swimming  in  the  water; 
eyes  set  far  back  and  down  on  the  sides  of  the 
head,  and  so  small  as  to  seem  useless;  a  hideous 
mouth,  filled  with  a  swollen,  black  tongue,  and  dis- 
closing a  few  straggling,  poorly  developed  teeth ;  a 
perfectly  round  body,  about  the  size  of  a  sugar 
barrel  at  the  neck,  thence  expanding  to  that  of  a 
hogshead  at  the  waist,  and  then  tapering  down 
until  at  the  fluke  it  could  be  almost  spanned  by 
your  fingers;  a  sort  of  hooked  fin  projecting  along 
the  back  but  with  no  appearance  of  spines;  and, 
finally,  two  side  paddles  proportioned  to  the  size  of 
the  body — as  he  lay  there,  his  skin  glossy,  smooth, 
and  shining  black  from  end  to  end,  the  animal  was 
clumsy  in  form  and  disgusting  to  look  at. 

But  while  this  whale  failed  to  please  the  eye,  he 
did  not  fail  to  impress  me  strongly  with  his  power. 
The  object-lesson  afforded  us  by  the  one  we  had 
lost,  first  in  his  leap  from  the  water,  and  again 
when  he  started  for  the  bottom,  was  calculated  to 
confirm  this  impression.  I  had  never  before  wit- 
nessed such  an  exhibition  of  animal  force;  and, 
although  we  afterwards  saw  whales  beside  which 
these  were  pigmies,  I  have  never  come  to  regard 
the  blackfish  as  too  small  to  be  counted  among  the 
monsters  of  the  deep. 

I  was  permitted  to  go  to  my  bunk  soon  after  we 
got  on  board,   and   when   I  again   came  on   deck 


The  Start — Seasickness — Blackfish  35 

nothing  remained  of  the  blackfish  but  their  oil. 
That  was  standing  in  a  metal  tank  cooling,  pre- 
paratory to  its  being  run  off  into  casks  in  the  hold. 
The  two  yielded  us  five  barrels  of  a  fairly  good 
quality  of  oil. 


CHAPTER  IV 

MY  FIRST  TURN  AT  THE  MASTHEAD 

THE  next  day  I  took  my  first  turn  at  standing 
at  the  masthead. 

Two  men  were  kept  continuously  stationed  as 
high  aloft  as  possible,  on  the  lookout  for  whales. 
In  regular  turns  of  two  hours  each,  from  daylight 
until  dark,  and  with  little  regard  for  wind  or 
weather,  we  foremast  hands  stood  at  the  foremast- 
head,  and  the  second  mate  and  the  boat-steerers  on 
the  other  mast. 

A  few  feet  above  the  highest  sail,  two  narrow 
bars,  called  cross-trees,  extended  about  a  foot  on 
each  side  of  the  mast.  From  the  ends  of  these 
bars  two  small  (inch)  ropes  were  stretched  to  within 
a  few  feet  of  the  extreme  top  of  the  mast  above,  on 
each  side.  And  it  was  on  these  cross-bars,  leaning 
against  these  little  ropes,  that  we  used  to  be 
stationed,  looking  out  upon  the  dreary  waste  of 
water  for  hours,  searching  for  whatever  could  be 
seen, — whales,  ships,  land,  or  what  not.     No  con- 

36 


My  First  Turn  at  the  Masthead     37 

ceivable  employment  could  be  more  tedious,  and  it 
did  much  to  perfect  the  cure  my  parents  had 
desired. 

It  is  customary  on  most  whalers  to  build  what  is 
known  as  a  crow's-nest  for  the  men  to  stand  in 
while  thus  aloft;  but  our  captain  seems  to  have 
entertained  the  idea  that  if  our  positions  at  the 
masthead  were  made  less  safe  or  enjoyable,  we 
would  be  more  likely  to  remain  awake  and  on  the 
lookout.  At  any  rate,  whatever  may  have  been 
the  reason,  no  crow's-nest  or  other  device  to  make 
us  comfortable  was  built  at  our  mastheads,  and  we 
stood  there  on  the  narrow  bars  with  nothing  to  hold 
by  except  the  mast  and  shrouds. 

As  I  came  on  deck  that  morning  after  my  weeks 
of  fasting,  with  my  stomach  at  work  on  a  full  supply 
of  food,  the  world  had  renewed  its  glory.  The  rig- 
ging, the  sails,  the  sky,  and  the  water  were  all 
interesting  to  me,  a  sensation  which  had  been  want- 
ing while  the  seasickness  held  its  sway. 

Mr.  Bowman  met  me  at  the  gangway.  "  All 
right,  Tom  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Feel  like  a  fighting-cock,  sir,"  I  answered 
glibly,  and  thought  my  statement  true. 

"  Good  'nough — good  'nough.  Glad  yeh  feel  so 
good.  Guess  yeh  might  's  well  take  y'r  turn  aloft 
then — 'bout  your  turn,  ain't  it?"  he  said  pleas- 
antly, and  passed  on  aft. 


38  On  Board  a  Whaler 

Just  then  the  bell  rang  as  the  signal  to  relieve  the 
man  already  on  the  lookout,  and  my  turn  had 
indeed  come. 

We  had  not  yet  reached  the  regular  whaling 
grounds,  and  the  brig  was  under  all  the  sail  she 
would  carry,  plunging  along  through  a  rough  and 
high-swelling  sea;  and  the  foam-flecked  waves, 
tossing  and  tumbling  the  vessel  about  like  a  cork, 
suddenly  lost  their  fascinating  interest  for  me,  to 
become  cold  and  threatening. 

My  strength  had  been  by  no  means  fully  re- 
covered ;  my  grip  upon  the  shrouds  as  I  mounted 
the  windward  rail  seemed  all  too  weak  for  my  uses, 
and  all  the  buoyancy  so  recently  felt  upon  reaching 
the  deck  had  flown  with  the  winds. 

It  seemed  to  me  the  brig  had  never  acted  so  in- 
fernally as  she  was  doing  that  morning,  now  rushing 
head  foremost  down  a  steep  incline  into  a  great 
yawning  gulf,  then  with  a  sudden  turn  tossing  her 
bowsprit  high  into  the  air,  to  immediately  roll  in  a 
sickening  leeward  lurch  and  start  on  a  second  dive, 
while  the  mast  I  must  climb  swung  in  great  swirling 
rings  above  me. 

I  had  scarcely  put  my  foot  upon  the  first  ratline 
in  my  ascent  before  my  seasickness  threatened  to 
return,  but  I  kept  steadily  on  up  until  a  point  just 
below  the  foretop  had  been  reached.  The  foretop 
was  a  platform  that  extended  outward  for  several 


My  First  Turn  at  the  Masthead     39 

feet  on  each  side  of  the  foremast,  and  was  the  first 
serious  obstacle  in  my  path  to  the  station.  It  was 
nearly  half-way  up  to  the  masthead,  and  the  ladder 
on  which  I  was  climbing  ended  several  feet  below 
it.  A  second,  shorter,  ladder  was  stretched  from  a 
few  feet  below  the  platform,  beginning  at  the  mast, 
and  reaching  at  an  angle  of  about  forty-five  de- 
grees to  the  outer  edge  of  the  foretop ;  while  from 
there  another  ladder  went  on  up  to  my  post. 

There  were  two  ways  of  surmounting  the  plat- 
form :  one  involved  going  out  on  the  short  ladder 
with  my  back  hanging  partially  down;  the  other 
was  by  crawling  through  an  opening  in  the  top  next 
to  the  mast,  known  as  the  "  lubber-hole." 

The  usual  and  proper  way  was  by  the  short 
ladder,  but  to  a  novice  that  way  was  seemingly  too 
full  of  danger  to  be  alluring;  on  the  other  hand,  he 
lubber-hole  was  the  resort  of  landlubbers,  a  place 
into  which  no  true  sailor  could  be  enticed. 

To  me  the  situation  presented  only  a  choice  of 
bad  ways.  To  pass  through  the  lubber-hole  meant 
a  subsequent  endurance  of  the  jeers  of  the  boys 
whom  I  believed  to  be  watching  me  from  the  deck ; 
while  to  take  the  other  way  was  to  incur  the  risk 
of  my  strength  proving  unequal  to  the  task.  The 
mast  was  now  swaying  and  jerking  in  a  most  alarm- 
ing manner,  and  my  arms  and  legs  were  trembling 
from    the    effects    of   the    recent   illness.      It   was 


40  On  Board  a  Whaler 

doubtful  if  it  were  within  my  power  to  go  over  the 
top  in  the  usual  way. 

I  waited  there  a  few  seconds  to  allow  my  nausea 
to  subside  and  to  recover  my  breath,  and  then,  as 
the  brig  lurched  well  to  leeward,  resolved  not  to 
show  the  white  feather  let  what  might  happen.  I 
shut  my  teeth  hard  and  dashed  ahead,  to  find  myself 
a  moment  later  safe  above  the  platform. 

The  unexpected  ease  with  which  the  apparent 
difficulty  had  been  overcome  restored  my  courage, 
and,  without  stopping  to  look  or  to  breathe,  I  hur- 
ried on  up  to  the  cross-trees. 

I  was  now  perhaps  sixty  feet  above  the  deck,  my 
feet  upon  ratlines  of  a  ladder  that  was  barely  wide 
enough  to  let  my  toes  between  the  shrouds,  my 
arms  resting  over  the  little  cross-bars,  while  my 
hands  clutched  the  ropes  on  the  other  side  of  the 
mast.  With  my  strength  apparently  exhausted, 
my  heart  throbbing  in  my  throat,  my  breath  caught 
in  smothering  gasps,  and  my  whole  frame  quivering 
with  anxious  terror,  I  expected  to  be  hurled  from 
that  swinging  mast  into  the  sea  at  any  moment. 
The  situation  might  well  have  tried  the  nerves  of  a 
boy  in  perfect  health  who  had  never  before  mounted 
to  the  masthead ;  for  me,  it  was  the  extreme  verge 
of  my  powers  to  bear. 

At  that  juncture  the  idea  came  to  me  that  I  was 
in  a  nightmare,  and  I  let  go  with  one  hand  to  pinch 


I  EXPECTED  TO  BE  HURLED  INTO  THE  SEA  AT  ANY  MOMENT." 


My  First  Turn  at  the  Masthead     41 

myself  awake.  This  act  relieved  the  nervous  strain 
under  which  my  mind  was  suffering,  and  caused  me 
to  laugh  outright.  In  an  instant  after  that  my 
heart  had  resumed  its  proper  place,  my  breathing 
had  become  again  easy  and  regular,  and  the  next 
moment  I  was  standing  on  the  cross-bars. 

Still,  I  was  far  from  comfortable  I  was  in  deadly 
fear  of  a  recurrence  of  my  seasickness,  while  I  was 
in  such  a  state  of  exhaustion  that  it  was  necessary 
to  use  all  my  remaining  strength  to  retain  an  up- 
right position. 

If  there  had  been  a  hundred  whales  in  sight,  they 
would  not  have  been  "  raised  "  by  me,  for  my  mind 
was  wholly  engrossed  in  holding  on  and  seeming 
unconscious  of  peril.  Indeed,  my  principal  concern 
was  lest  some  one  should  discover  my  fright,  and 
my  assumption  of  carelessness  must  have  enter- 
tained Jim,  who  stood  on  the  other  mast  watching 
me. 

The  hours  had  dragged  their  way  into  weeks, 
seemingly,  before  Frank  called  to  me  from  the 
foretop : 

"  Hy  there,  Tom!" 

I  look  down  at  him,  and  he  resumed : 

"  Y'r  time  's  up.     Come  down." 

In  a  few  seconds  I  was  with  him  at  the  top. 

"  Liked  it,  did  n't  yeh  ?  Yeh  've  stayed  five 
minutes  over  time,"  he  informed  me. 


42  On  Board  a  Whaler 

"  Guess  the  wind  must  have  drowned  the  bell,"  I 
suggested. 

"  He,  he,  he,  Tom!  Yeh  '11  git  so  't  yeh  c'n  hear 
that  bell  in  a  hurricane.  If  yeh  don't  hear  it, 
yeh  '11  see  it  waggle,  anyhow.  How  did  yeh  like  it 
up  there,  though  ?     Scare  yeh  any  ? "  he  asked. 

"  Did  I  show  any  signs  ? " — cautiously. 

His  eyes  glittered,  but  he  kept  his  face  straight 
as  he  replied:  "  No,  no.  Not  a  bit.  But,  honest 
Injun,  now,  warn't  yeh  scart  some  ?  " 

We  were  many  feet  above  the  deck,  and  standing 
in  a  gale  of  wind,  yet  the  confession  was  whispered 
in  his  ear: 

"  No  name  for  it.  Scared !  There  's  no  word 
in  the  English  language  to  half  express  it.  I  nigh 
about  shook  off  my  clothes,  that  's  the  truth." 

11  Wa-al,  yeh  done  a  heap  better  'n  I  done.  I 
crawled  through  that  durned  lubber-hole,  an'  felt 
like  a  blamed  sucker  for  doin'  it.  But  't  won't  do 
to  talk  much  here.  So  long.  It  '11  be  all  hooky 
after  this." 

And  it  was. 


CHAPTER  V 

WE  COMPLAIN   TO   THE    MASTER  AND   KENNEY 
COMES   TO   GRIEF 

THE  meals  served  to  us  in  the  forecastle  now 
were  neither  illustrations  of  high  art  in  cookery 
nor  of  extravagant  plenty.  Anything  beyond  the 
daily  rations  of  salt  meat  and  potatoes  was  valued 
as  a  luxury  and  prized  accordingly.  A  kind  of 
boiled  bread,  with  molasses  for  sauce,  was  sent  to 
us  once  in  two  weeks ;  a  piece  of  pie  for  each  man 
found  its  way  to  us  about  as  often;  gingerbread 
was  given  us  several  times;  biscuits  baked  by  the 
cook  or  steward  came  occasionally;  dried  pea  or 
bean  soup,  never  both,  was  served  weekly,  with 
something  like  regularity  for  some  months;  and, 
finally,  cornmeal  mush  (hasty  pudding)  was  among 
the  extras  fed  to  us.  Now  and  then,  too,  a  fish 
or  porpoise  would  be  caught,  and  part  of  it  sent 
forward  to  us. 

That  was  all.     Month  followed  month  during  the 
whole  voyage,    with   no  other  variation   from  the 

43 


44  On  Board  a  Whaler 

inevitable  potatoes,  salt  meat,  hardtack,  and  coffee 
than  what  has  just  been  mentioned. 

If  all  these  things  had  been  well  cooked,  we 
should  not  have  been  in  danger  from  gout,  but 
they  were  frequently  utterly  spoiled  in  the  cooking 
by  Kenney.  In  this  way  he  even  spoiled  our  hasty 
pudding,  or,  rather,  by  failing  to  cook  it  at  all. 

To  make  mush,  it  is  only  necessary  to  stir  meal 
little  by  little  into  boiling  water  until  the  mess  has 
reached  the  proper  consistency,  then  add  a  little 
salt,  and  it  is  done.  But  for  Kenney,  who  was 
perhaps  the  laziest  cook  ever  permitted  to  tantalize 
a  crew,  even  so  simple  a  process  was  too  irksome. 

One  day,  something  like  two  weeks  after  my  trip 
to  the  masthead,  the  kid  came  down  to  us  with 
some  mush  that  had  been  made  by  stirring  meal 
into  cold  water.  Once  or  twice  before  it  had 
reached  us  half  done,  and  the  boys  had  used  it  for 
cleaning  their  pans,  letting  the  matter  pass  without 
anything  worse  than  a  little  grumbling;  but  this 
last  mess  was  too  much  for  the  patience  of  Jack, 
who  declared  with  great  energy,  not  unmixed  with 
oaths : 

"  The  ol'  man's  got  to  know  'bout  this." 

M  That  's  right;  somebuddy  doughter  to  tell 
'im,"  chimed  in  another. 

11  Ye-ah,  an'  git  kerflummoxt  all  ove  the  deck 
fer  'is  pains,"  cautioned  a  third. 


We  Complain  to  the  Master        45 

Jack  turned  to  me.  "  Say,  Tom,  you  'd  stan' 
the  best  show  o'  gittin'  heard  and  doin'  us  fair  aft. 
The  ol*  man  's  kinder  stuck  on  you  sence  yeh  hung 
onter  that  line  so  durned  hard — putty  nigh  yanked 
'im  inter  kingdom  come,  an'  made  'im  respect  yeh, 
I  guess.  Anyhow,  you  c'n  put  things  softer  'n 
most  of  us  can.  S'pose  you  tell  'im  'bout  this 
thing.     What  yeh  say  ?  " 

I  had  small  taste  for  the  errand,  but,  believing  in 
the  sense  of  justice  of  the  captain,  and  probably 
flattered  by  Jack's  politic  words,  I  undertook  it. 

'*  Guess  yeh  'd  best  take  y'r  pan  an'  spoon  'long, 
sost  he  c'n  see,"  Frank  suggested  as  I  was  starting. 

So,  armed  with  the  mush,  pan,  and  spoon,  I  went 
aft  to  seek  the  master. 

The  captain  was  pacing  his  usual  beat,  back  and 
forth  along  the  quarter-deck,  and  I  boldly  mounted 
the  deck  to  confront  him.  He  was  apparently 
absorbed  in  his  own  thoughts,  and  took  no  notice 
of  me. 

"  Ahem!  "  I  began. 

Still  he  .walked  on,  paying  me  no  attention. 

"  Ahem  !  " — louder  this  time,  but  with  no  better 
success. 

Then  I  placed  myself  squarely  in  his  path  and 
spoke  out.  "  The  boys  forrard  have  sent  me  to 
you,  sir,  to  show  you  what  sort  of  stuff  the  cook  is 
giving  us.     We  've — they  've  stood  it  a  long  while, 


46  On  Board  a  Whaler 

without  saying  anything  about  it,  in  hopes  that  he 
would  do  better;  but,  instead  of  doing  better,  he  is 
getting  worse  and  worse." 

"  Wha  —  wha  —  what  's  that!  The  boys  sent 
yeh,  did  yeh  say  ?  "  he  asked  sharply,  his  face 
coloring  slightly. 

'  'Yes,  sir." 

He  walked  rapidly  across  the  deck  away  from  me, 
and  then  turned  with  a  menacing  gesture,  his  eyes 
ablaze  with  anger.  "  That  's  allers  the  way  with 
sech  fellers  as  you.  Yeh  never  had  a  square  meal 
afore  yeh  come  aboard  here,  none  on  yeh.  Yeh 
don't  none  on  yeh  know  what  a  square  meal  is — not 
a  single  mother's  son  uv  yeh  all.  No,  suh.  The 
minute  yeh  git  aboard  a  ship,  the'  hain't  nuthin' 
good  'nough  for  yeh.  Here  we  've  gut  the  best 
grub  outfit  ever  put  on  a  whaler,  and  you  fellers 
come  here  kickin'  jest  the  same."  His  voice  had 
gradually  increased  in  volume  until  he  was  fairly 
screeching.  "I  bet  you  never  got  no  sech  mush  's 
that   to   home,    nuther,  yeh    little 

The  blood  of  the  men  of  '76  was  boiling  within 
me  by  this  time,  and  I  interrupted  him  hotly. 
"  No,  sir.  I  never  did.  That  's  not  mush;  that  's 
chicken  feed,"  I  snapped  contemptuously.  "  If 
you  '11  taste  it,  you  '11  see." 

The  captain  was  glaring  at  me,  and  it  was  easy 


We  Complain  to  the  Master        47 

to  see  the  thought  of  kicking  me  off  the  quarter- 
deck was  in  his  mind ;  but,  as  the  boys  afterwards 
said,  I  was  "  hopping  mad  "  and  stood  my  ground, 
extending  my  pan  and  spoon  toward  him. 

"  Darn  it — here  !  "  He  snatched  the  pan  from 
my  hand.  "  That  's  jest  sich  mush  's  we  git  in  the 
cabin,"  he  snarled,  "  and  anybuddy  that  '11  grumble 
at  it  doughter  be  flogged, ' ' 

His  judgment  thus  delivered,  to  prove  his  faith 
in  the  announcement  made,  he  filled  my  spoon  to 
its  limit  and  crammed  it  into  his  mouth. 

"Ugh — wah!  Foo — few — foo — wuh  !  FUGH — 
FOO — WAH — WOO!  "  The  mush  was  spurting  over 
the  deck  and  my  pan  flew  out  over  the  sea. 

A  moment  later  Kenney  was  fleeing  from  his 
galley,  closely  followed  by  the  captain,  who  played 
upon  him  at  every  jump  with  a  rope's  end. 
Around  and  around  the  deck,  and  bellowing  like  a 
frightened  calf,  ran  our  cook,  with  his  furious  master 
at  his  heels,  while  the  rope  swished  and  slashed 
about  the  thin-clad  back. 

At  last,  breathless  and  exhausted,  his  face  the 
color  of  a  boiled  lobster,  the  captain  stopped  to 
pant: 

'•  By  gum — ef  that  stuff  's — good  'nough — good 
'nough  fur  them — it  's  plenty  —  plenty  good  'nough 

iur  you — you -.     Now  you  git — 

you  git  that  kid — an'  ef  you  hain't  et — the  hull 


48  On  Board  a  Whaler 

durned  mess  in  an  hour — blamed  ef  I  don't — pitch 
y'r  dummed  carcase  overboard!  " 

Then  he  seated  himself  on  the  steps  leading  to 
the  quarter-deck  to  witness  the  execution  of  his 
sentence;  while  we  stood,  for  the  next  half  hour, 
gibing  our  victim,  as  he  vainly  strove  to  fulfil  the 
condition  of  his  fate.  At  last,  tired  of  waiting, 
the  captain  cuffed  the  fellow's  ears  soundly,  ordered 
the  rest  of  the  mush  thrown  over  the  side,  and 
resumed  his  beat  at  the  stern. 

The  moral  effect  of  this  episode  upon  Kenney 
was  such  that  we  had  after  that  no  just  cause  for 
complaint  against  him.  The  cooking  was  by  no 
means  excellent,  but  he  did  his  best  to  please  us. 


WITH   HIS  FURIOUS  MASTER  AT  HIS  HEELS." 


'>>> />\\>>  l  V  >. 


CHAPTER  VI 

PORPOISES— HOMESICKNESS— DRUDGERY 

SAVE  now  and  then  a  flying-fish  dropping  on  the 
deck,  or  a  school  of  porpoises  playing  about 
the  vessel,  for  weeks  after  we  entered  our  protest 
against  raw  mush  there  was  almost  nothing  to  break 
the  trying  monotony  of  our  lives. 

The  porpoise  is  the  smallest  as  well  as  most 
sportful  of  the  whale  tribe.  Often,  and  especially 
if  the  brig  were  plowing  her  way  at  fullest  speed, 
these  animals  would  come  together  in  groups  at  the 
bow,  where  they  would  gambol  and  dart  about  for 
a  long  time. 

The  flesh  of  the  porpoise  resembles  that  of  hog 
liver  in  color,  and  its  taste  was  not  much  relished 
by  us.  A  small  quantity  of  oil  that  is  greatly 
esteemed  by  clockmakers  is  made  from  the  head 
(porpoise-jaw  oil),  but  otherwise  they  are  of  little 
value,  and  not  uncommonly  we  left  them  un- 
molested at  their  play. 

They    were    usually    from   six  to    eight    feet    in 

49 


50  On  Board  a  Whaler 

length,  round,  smooth,  glossy,  and  shining,  some- 
thing like  a  foot  through  their  bodies — graceful 
creatures,  with  the  apparent  innocence  of  lambs. 

Occasionally  one  of  them  would  show  up  with  a 
white-tipped  side  paddle,  or  some  other  peculiar 
mark  on  his  body,  when  he  was  apt  to  become  the 
prey  of  some  curious  boy  who  desired  a  closer  in- 
spection. In  such  cases,  the  boy  would  get  out 
upon  the  chains  over  the  bow  with  a  harpoon  and 
line,  and,  watching  his  chance,  soon  impale  his  un- 
suspecting victim  with  the  weapon.  Then  the  poor 
animal  would  be  hauled  on  board,  his  head  severed 
from  his  body,  some  slices  of  his  meat  cut  off  for 
our  meals,  and  the  rest  of  him  thrown  back  into  the 
sea. 

Although  it  has  often  been  stated  that  the  por- 
poise is  a  cannibal  and  will  eat  his  brother  when 
thus  cast  overboard,  I  do  not  remember  ever  seeing 
one  of  them  attack  such  a  carcase;  but,  on  the 
contrary,  the  instant  one  of  a  school  was  struck  by 
us,  the  rest  of  them  dived  and  were  gone  from  sight 
in  a  flash,  not  to  be  seen  again  by  us. 

On  small  sailing  vessels  such  as  the  brig  there  is 
little  to  employ  twenty-three  men  other  than  what 
may  be  termed  made  work;  and  nothing  more 
annoys  an  ordinary  Yankee  boy  than  that  sort  of 
"pounding  stone."  He  will  endure  the  severest  toil 
as  cheerfully  as  any  other  mortal  so  long  as  it  seems 


Homesickness  51 

to  him  necessary ;  but  set  him  at  something  for  no 
better  purpose  than  to  save  him  from  idleness,  and 
he  commences  to  shirk  and  growl. 

The  officers  did  their  best  now  to  keep  us  busy, 
but  the  days  and  even  the  hours  lagged  wearily 
enough,  while  we  all  grumbled  at  our  want  of  luck. 
In  the  daytime  we  were  kept  at  the  masthead,  at 
the  wheel,  scrubbing  the  decks  and  paintwork, 
scouring  brass,  mending  sails  and  rigging,  splicing 
ropes,  picking  oakum,  cleaning  up  the  boats,  turn- 
ing the  grindstone  to  sharpen  lances,  spades,  and 
harpoons,  tarring  shrouds  —  at  every  conceivable 
thing  that  could  be  done  on  a  vessel.  At  night, 
when  not  asleep,  we  stood  our  turns  at  the  wheel 
and  the  forward  lookout,  dreamily  watching  the 
compass  two  hours  at  a  time  at  the  one  post,  and 
pacing  the  deck  at  the  other. 

We  had  seen  nothing  of  the  fighting  whales  we 
had  dreamed  of  seeing;  had  met  with  nothing  like 
an  adventure — it  was  all  different  from  the  pictures 
of  a  life  at  sea  drawn  for  us  on  shore,  and  all 
decidedly  disagreeable  to  me. 

In  place  of  the  whales,  fruits,  and  foreign  lands 
that  had  filled  my  brain  while  preparing  for  the 
voyage,  visions  of  home  now  haunted  my  mind. 
I  could  see  rising  before  me  the  trees,  the  flowers, 
the  gardens,  the  birds,  the  streets,  the  houses,  the 
faces,  the  girls  and  the  boys,  all  the  familiar  things 


52  On  Board  a  Whaler 

of  the  old  town.  Asleep  or  awake,  not  for  a 
single  moment  was  I  rid  of  these  tormenting 
memories  for  days  together.  As  we  would  sit 
down  before  our  filthy  kid,  with  its  unpeeled  and 
unwashed  potatoes,  its  ill-smelling  pork  and  rancid 
butter,  its  tough,  maggot-tainted  hardtack,  its 
black,  bitter  coffee,  in  the  stuffy  den  where  we  both 
ate  and  slept,  a  clean  white  spread  table  would  ap- 
pear before  my  eyes,  with  its  orderly,  shining  white 
dishes,  its  knives  and  forks,  its  napkins  and  rings, 
its  New  England  boiled  dinner,  with  cabbage  and 
turnips  and  fine  corned  beef,  its  fluffy  white  bread, 
its  sweet,  fresh  butter,  its  glasses  of  water  or  creamy 
milk,  its  everything  that  was  lacking  in  our  fore- 
castle to  make  eating  enjoyable,  and  then  would 
come  the  sound  of  my  father's  voice  raised  in  rever- 
ent invocation  of  the  Creator's  blessing  upon  the 
meal.  It  was  terribly  real  and  tantalizing  to  me. 
My  tin  pan  and  iron  spoon,  with  all  the  ill-assorted 
conglomeration  of  messes  about  me,  would  be 
thrust  aside  for  some  other  time,  and  I  would  hurry 
on  deck  to  get  rid  of  myself. 

I  had  been  tortured  by  seasickness  until  I  had 
longed  for  death;  and  now  my  sufferings  were  even 
more  acute  from  homesickness. 

Luckily,  the  officers  of  the  brig  were  not  disposed 
to  be  tyrannical.  In  this  respect  they  differed 
much    from    the   officers   of   many   vessels.     They 


Homesickness  53 

kept  us  employed  as  much  as  possible,  but  it  was 
upon  the  theory  that  men  were  best  contented 
when  busy,  and  no  man  who  was  not  physically 
able  was  forced  to  work.  There  was  a  sense  of 
good-fellowship  among  us  all,  from  the  captain 
down  to  the  greenest  foremast  hand,  such  as  rarely 
is  found  to  exist  on  board  ships.  But  for  this 
happy  circumstance,  during  the  period  of  which  I 
am  writing  and  for  much  of  the  time  later,  the  life 
would  have  been  unbearable  for  me. 

The  language  of  both  officers  and  men  was  fre- 
quently brutal  and  coarse ;  but,  in  reality,  the  words 
had  little  more  significance  than  the  V  Good  morn- 
ing "  or  "  How  do  you  do  ? "  of  shore  life.  The 
average  landsman  would  be  ready  to  fight  at  once  if 
addressed  asa"  son  of  a  gun,"  or  by  any  of  the 
dozen  more  disgusting  titles  that  passed  freely 
among  us;  but  to  the  common  sailor  such  addresses 
are  tokens  of  affection  or  signals  for  warfare,  ac- 
cording to  the  tone  or  manner  of  the  utterance. 

In  consequence  of  this  custom  among  seamen  of 
using  words  that  are  disagreeable  to  refined  ears, 
although  somewhat  at  the  expense  of  fidelity  to  my 
story,  the  conversations  and  exclamations  of  the 
men  will  not  be  always  rendered  verbatim  as  they 
are  recalled  to  mind.  To  give  the  real  words  used 
on  all  occasions  would  be  an  unwarrantable  libel 
upon  the  characters  of  our  crew— the  men  were  all 


54  On  Board  a  Whaler 

vastly  better  at  heart  than  the  language  employed 
by  them. 

Of  all  the  drudgery  we  had  to  perform,  tarring 
the  rigging  was  to  me  the  most  annoying.  Rope, 
when  exposed  to  all  kinds  of  weather,  will  soon  be- 
come unfit  for  use  unless  kept  well  covered  with 
something.  And,  for  that  reason,  every  stationary 
shroud  and  rope  about  the  brig  was  kept  smeared 
well  with  tar;  and,  as  we  had  none  of  the  modern 
iron  rigging,  there  was  a  great  deal  of  tarring  neces- 
sary to  be  done. 

A  man,  armed  with  a  tar  bucket  and  wad  of 
oakum,  would  be  hoisted  in  a  sling  to  the  highest 
point  on  a  stay  or  shroud ;  and  then,  slowly  letting 
himself  down,  daub  the  surface  of  the  rope  from 
there  to  the  deck  or  lower  fastening.  By  the  time 
he  was  through  with  his  work,  his  hair,  his  clothes, 
his  hands,  every  part  of  him  would  be  black  with 
the  sticky  stuff.  It  found  its  way  beneath  his 
finger-nails,  into  every  wrinkle  and  crease  of  his 
palms,  through  his  clothes  to  his  body;  and 
wherever  it  found  its  way  there  it  stayed  until  fairly 
worn  off,  for  the  soap  and  brine  with  which  we 
were  compelled  to  clean  ourselves  was  wholly  use- 
less against  it.  The  work  was  fatal  to  all  notion  of 
being  neat,  and  was  thoroughly  disliked  by  most 
of  us. 

I  owed  my  release  from  a  good  deal  of  that  kind 


Drudgery  55 

of  work  to  following  the  advice  given  me  by  my 
friend  Cannon  that  morning  at  the  depot.  The 
mate  would  bawl : 

"  Tar  bucket  here!  " 

And,  before  the  sound  of  his  voice  had  ceased  to 
ring  over  the  decks,  I  would  appear  to  him  with  a 
bucket  of  tar,  ready  for  the  work.  I  obeyed  orders 
and  moved  quickly  on  all  occasions  in  those  days. 
After  this  had  happened  several  times,  Mr.  Bow- 
man took  notice  of  it  in  a  manner  that  was  charac- 
teristic of  him.  I  had  just  come  down  from  standing 
my  turn  at  the  masthead  one  day,  when  I  heard  the 
mate  calling  for  tar.  Seeing  no  one  going  in  re- 
sponse to  the  summons,  I  caught  up  a  bucket  and 
hastened  along  to  obey  it.  At  sight  of  me  the 
mate  dropped  the  rope  he  was  examining,  and 
roared  at  me : 

'*■  Here,  you  let  that  alone!  " 

I  was  somewhat  startled,  and,  thinking  there  had 
been  some  mistake,  began  an  apology. 

He  paid  no  heed  to  what  I  was  trying  to  say,  but 
seemed  to  be  looking  past  me  at  some  one  forward. 
Turning,  I  saw  a  tuft  of  reddish  hair  waving  in  the 
wind  above  the  try-pots,  and  concluded  that  one  of 
the  boys  was  skulking  there. 

V  You,  Reddy  !  "  bellowed  Mr.  Bowman. 

A  freckled -faced  boy  came  slowly  out  from  be- 
hind the  brickwork  and  moved  reluctantly  my  way. 


56  On  Board  a  Whaler 

"  You  're  the  feller  I  'm  after.  Git  y'r  lazy 
bones  along  out  o'  that  lively,  now!  " 

Then,  after  the  boy  had  got  to  us  and  sheepishly 
taken  the  bucket  from  my  hands,  the  mate  turned 
upon  me  as  though  I,  and  not  Reddy,  was  the 
culprit. 

"  You  hain't  the  only  man  aboard  that  knows 
how  to  spread  tar;  don't  yeh  b'lieve  it.  More  'n 
that,  when  I  call  for  tar,  I  don't  mean  you,  nuther. 
D'  yeh  hear  1—yon  hain't  tar,  and  more  'n  that,  you 
jest  keep  y'r  hands  outer  tar  'til  I  tell  yeh  to  put 
'em  in — do  yeh  understand  ?  Now  mind.  This 
feller — this  red-headed  son  of  a  sea-cook  " — (here 
the  mate  suddenly  shook  the  boy  until  his  teeth 
clattered  in  his  head) — '*  he's  tar  for  me — he  is,  and 
I  want  you  to  remember  that  too.  It  's  time  he 
learned  what  slush  is." 

For  a  long  time  after  that,  poor  Reddy,  who 
owed  his  nickname  to  his  complexion,  spent  the 
most  of  his  time  acquiring  the  art  of  putting  on  tar; 
while  it  was  months  before  I  was  even  allowed  to 
touch  that  kind  of  work. 

So  it  was  with  other  disagreeable  jobs.  The  of- 
ficers soon  came  to  know  who  were  disposed  to  shirk, 
and  gave  those  men  reasons  for  wishing  they  had 
been  more  prompt  to  obey.  I  am  sure  I  escaped 
many  irksome  bits  of  drudgery  by  moving  quickly 
without  regard  to  the  sort  of  duty  required  of  me. 


CHAPTER  VII 

KILLERS 

WE  had  been  cruising  probably  two  months, 
with  no  break  in  the  monotony  mentioned 
in  the  last  chapter,  and  the  officers  as  well  as  the 
foremast  hands  were  becoming  disheartened  and 
irritable,  when,  screeched  with  all  the  force  of 
Frank's  lungs,  the  cry  for  which  we  were  constantly 
listening,  came  down  from  aloft : 

"  There  she  breach-es,"  followed  at  once  by, 
"  There  she  b/o-o~ows\  " 

In  a  second  every  man  of  the  crew  was  on  his 
feet,  with  his  eyes  and  ears  alert. 

14  Where  away  ?  "  demanded  the  captain. 

"  Right  aport,  suh." 

From  my  post  at  the  wheel  nothing  could  be 
seen  of  the  whales.  They  were  too  far  away  to  be 
seen  from  the  deck. 

The  mate  hurried  with  a  spy-glass  into  the  main 
rigging,  while  the  captain  walked  nervously  back 

57 


58  On  Board  a  Whaler 

and  forth  on  his  usual  beat.  Every  other  man  who 
could  sought  some  good  point  of  outlook. 

As  they  saw  more  and  more  of  the  whales,  Frank 
and  Mr.  Brown  at  the  mastheads  continued  to  cry, 
in  rather  subdued  tones:  "  Blo-o-ows — blo-o-ows — 
thar  she  blo-o-ows!  " 

A  moment  after  the  mate  had  adjusted  his  glass, 
the  captain  asked  of  him  impatiently, 

**  What  do  yeh  make  'em  ?" 

The  captain's  nervousness  manifestly  increased 
as  he  waited  the  deliberate  answer  of  Mr.  Bowman, 
which  was  not  given  for  fully  a  minute: 

V  They  're  killers,  sir.  Suthin'  of  a  school — a 
dozen,  mebbe. " 

"  How  far  do  yeh  make  'em  ?  " 

"  'Bout  five  milds." 

"  We  '11  run  down  that  way  a  bit,  then,"  the 
captain  directed. 

"  Aye,  aye,  sir,"  responded  the  mate,  and  imme- 
diately bawled : 

"  Man  the  braces." 

The  order  was  repeated  by  Nye  on  the  deck,  and 
the  men  hustled  to  their  places. 

"  All  ready,  sir,"  was  presently  announced. 

"  Let  'er  off,  Tom,"  said  the  captain  to  me. 

I  whirled  the  wheel,  and  the  bow  fell  off  in  the 
direction  of  the  whales,  the  spanker-boom  and 
yardarms  keeping  pace  with  it. 


Killers  59 

"  There — steady.  That  '11  do.  Keep  'er  so," 
the  captain  ordered. 

M  Steady,  sir.  Keep  'er  so,  sir,"  I  answered, 
and  whirled  the  wheel  back. 

"  Well — well — well,  that — belay  all,"  next  came, 
as  each  sail  was  finally  trimmed  for  the  new  course. 

The  breeze  was  light  and  our  speed  correspond- 
ingly slow.  It  seemed  an  hour  before  anything 
could  be  discerned  from  the  deck  to  account  for 
such  a  stirring.  Then  a  dark,  shining  object  glim- 
mered for  a  moment  on  the  horizon  and  sank.  A 
minute  later  several  such  objects  were  shimmering 
in  the  sunlight,  and  little  puffs  like  steam  rose  from 
them  and  faded. 

11  There  she  blo-o-ows!  "  rang  out  in  concert  from 
a  dozen  throats  at  once  on  the  decks. 

After  that  we  sailed  on  for  another  hour,  the 
whales  gradually  showing  larger  and  plainer,  and 
the  little  puffs  going  higher  and  remaining  longer 
in  sight,  before  the  foreyards  were  hauled  aback 
and  the  brig  came  to  a  standstill. 

**  Man  the  boats!  "  bawled  the  captain. 

With  the  precision  that  comes  from  a  practised 
system,  all  three  boats  dropped  on  the  water,  and 
we  were  off  for  the  killers. 

There  was  always,  during  the  whole  voyage,  a 
good  deal  of  rivalry  between  the  crews  of  our  boats. 
Aside  from  the  natural  sportiveness  of  the  Yankee 


60  On  Board  a  Whaler 

boy,  each  crew  was  desperately  anxious  to  make 
the  best  possible  record  for  itself  as  a  whale  catcher, 
and  bent  all  its  energies  to  be  first  upon  the  ground. 
With  us,  there  was  no  holding  back  by  the  second 
mate  to  make  way  for  the  captain.  So  far  as  con- 
cerned its  right  to  get  to  the  game,  each  boat  was 
a  free-lance  with  us;  and  now  had  commenced  a 
spirited  race. 

The  distance  to  the  whales  was  scarcely  a  mile, 
a  short  run  for  well-manned  whale  boats;  and,  al- 
though some  of  us  had  had  little  experience  at  the 
oars,  we  made  the  boats  leap  as  they  went. 

The  whales  were  scattered  here  and  there  over  a 
wide  expanse,  sporting  about  in  the  water  with  no 
thought  of  being  attacked  ;  and  before  they  were  in 
the  least  aware  of  our  presence  we  dashed  in  among 
them. 

With  muscles  and  nerves  strung  to  the  highest 
tension  we  were  tugging  at  our  oars  in  our  boat, 
when,  a  little  to  one  side  and  behind  us,  an  enor- 
mous blue-black  fin  shot  at  least  five  feet  out  of  the 
water,  followed  by  a  broad  round  body  of  the  same 
color  large  enough  to  carry  such  an  appendage.  A 
low,  puffing  sound  reached  my  ears,  a  jet  looking  like 
steam  welled  out  from  the  top  of  the  animal's  head, 
and  then  both  fin  and  body  settled  back  out  of  sight. 

"  There  's  one  right  behind  us,  sir!  "  I  gasped. 

M  Stern — stern  all!"    shouted  the  captain;    and 


Killers  61 

then,  as  our  oars  sank  deep  to  check  the  progress 
of  the  boat,  he  said  to  the  boat-steerer : 

"  Stand  up,  Jim." 

As  Jim  rose  in  his  place  and  caught  up  his 
harpoon,  the  killer  broke  the  surface  again,  less 
than  ten  feet  ahead  of  us;  and,  without  waiting  for 
orders,  the  boat-steerer  hurled  his  iron  straight  into 
the  round  back  behind  the  great  fin. 

I  was  sitting  with  my  back  to  the  animal,  but  a 
great  swashing  of  water  behind  me  told  the  story 
plainly  enough,  even  before  the  line  started  on  its 
whizzing  course  out  of  the  boat.  We  were  fast  and 
the  killer  was  making  time.  He  had  not  sounded, 
as  most  whales  do  when  struck,  but  was  making  off 
on  the  surface  of  the  waves. 

M  In  with  y'r  oars,  boys!  "  the  captain  screeched 
excitedly;  and  then,  when  the  oars  had  all  been 
placed  out  of  danger  of  "  crabbing,"  he  spoke  more 
quietly  to  the  bow  oarsman : 

"  Nip  that  line  afore  he  gits  the  hull  of  it." 

The  boy  fumbled  for  a  few  seconds  with  his  nip- 
pers, but,  after  the  first  tub  had  been  nearly 
emptied  of  its  cord,  managed  to  grip  the  line  suffi- 
ciently to  enable  the  captain  to  secure  a  second 
turn  around  the  loggerhead,  by  means  of  which  it 
could  be  held.  We  then  all  turned  with  faces 
toward  the  flying  beast  and  clung  to  the  line  that 
held  him  to  us. 


62  On  Board  a  Whaler 

As  the  whale  now  went,  his  fin  and  back  rolling 
in  and  out  of  the  water  far  in  advance  of  us  in  a 
succession  of  rocking  leaps,  the  gait  was  terrific. 
The  spray  dashed  high  in  air  on  each  side  and  back 
of  the  boat.  The  bow  of  the  boat  rose  seemingly 
above  the  spray,  while  its  stern  sank  until  we  were 
in  a  tunnel  of  water.  From  where  I  sat  on  the 
after  thwart  nothing  could  be  seen  but  dazzling 
streaks  of  shining  foam  and  sea,  that  gurgled, 
spluttered,  and  hissed  as  we  flew  past  it.  We  had 
no  means  or  thought  of  measuring  the  speed  of  the 
animal,  but  it  was  quite  as  great  as  was  safe  for  our 
boat.  Indeed,  a  recent  writer  declares  that  the 
killer  is  so  swift  and  of  such  small  value  that  he 
enjoys  immunity  from  attack  by  whalemen;  and, 
although  my  experience  does  not  support  the  state- 
ment as  to  the  privilege  or  lack  of  value  of  the 
animal,  I  am  ready  to  endorse  it  concerning  its 
powers  of  flight. 

Soon  after  we  were  fairly  under  way  the  captain 
gave  me  the  line  to  hold  while  he  changed  ends  in  the 
boat  with  the  boat-steerer,  for  the  purpose  of  killing 
the  game.  I  held  on  to  it  until  relieved  by  Jim,  and 
was  then  allowed  to  turn  once  more  and  look  ahead. 

Just  as  I  was  turning,  another  of  those  great  fins 
rose,  this  time  so  close  beside  us  that  we  could  have 
leaped  from  the  boat  to  the  killer's  back.  Instantly 
came  the  roar  of  our  whale  gun,  and  a  loaded  bomb 


Killers  63 

had  sunk  into  the  vitals  of  the  beast,  sent  there  by 
the  captain. 

We  never  knew  with  certainty  whether  that  whale 
had  designed  an  attack  upon  our  boat.  The  cap- 
tain evidently  was  of  opinion  that  something  must 
be  done,  however,  for  he  seldom  resorted  to  his  gun 
except  in  emergencies,  as  we  learned  later. 

The  animal  settled  away  under  the  water,  and  we 
saw  nothing  more  of  him  until  we  found  him  dead, 
some  hours  afterwards,  floating  on  the  water. 

It  was  becoming  lively  work  with  us  now,  and 
our  excitement  ran  high;  but  no  one  of  my  com- 
panions showed  the  least  sign  of  fear.  Without 
exception  we  were  all  hilariously  happy.  For  my 
own  part,  there  was  no  s*ense  of  danger,  but  every 
faculty  was  alert. 

No  other  whales  appearing  in  our  immediate 
vicinity,  after  a  few  minutes  we  began  to  pull  up  by 
the  line  upon  the  running  killer.  This  we  found  to 
be  no  light  task.  To  gain  an  inch,  it  was  necessary 
to  pull  a  little  harder  than  would  be  required  to 
maintain  the  speed  at  which  the  boat  was  then 
going,  and  the  strain  upon  the  line  was  already  very 
great.  Aided  now  and  then  by  the  captain,  three 
men  tugged  at  the  line,  while  Jim  took  in  and  held 
the  slack  at  the  loggerhead.  My  own  duty  was  to 
take  care  of  the  line  as  it  was  drawn  in  and  coil  it 
neatly  in  the  boat. 


64  On  Board  a  Whaler 

In  this  manner  we  drew  slowly  up  to  the  fleeing 
brute,  until  we  had  come  near  enough  to  him,  and 
were  ordered  to : 
Hold  'er  now." 

The  captain  had  laid  his  gun  aside  in  the  bow  and 
stood  ready  with  his  long  hand-lance.  We  were  so 
close  to  the  whale  now  that  the  bow  of  the  boat  was 
pulled  down  from  its  skyward  tip,  and,  as  we  sat 
facing  forward  we  could  see  him  plainly. 

Up  came  the  fin,  scarcely  fifteen  feet  ahead  of 
the  boat,  and  a  portion  of  the  back  below  it  stood 
exposed  above  the  water.  I  looked  for  the  lance  to 
be  thrown  then,  but,  in  the  better  judgment  of  the 
master,  the  time  had  not  come.  Again  and  again 
and  again  that  high  fin  rose  in  front  of  us,  with  no 
movement  from  the  captain  watching  his  chance  at 
the  bow.  Then  the  animal  sheered  suddenly  and 
sharply  to  one  side  and  dashed  ahead  in  a  mighty 
leap.  A  streak  of  pearly  white  showed  itself  upon 
the  side  of  the  animal;  and,  before  the  boat  had 
turned  to  follow  the  beast,  the  lance  was  driven  in 
behind  his  side  paddle. 

Quick  as  a  flash  the  animal  turned  and  dove  be- 
neath the  boat. 

"  Swing  'er!  "screamed  the  captain. 

Jim  needed  no  such  command.  Already,  with  a 
promptness  excelled  only  by  that  of  our  killer,  he 
had  swung  the  boat   and  saved   us  from  an   ugly 


"we  began  to  pull  up  by  the  line  upon  the  running  KILLER." 


Killers  65 

somersault  by  the  time  the  monster  emerged  from 
the  water  behind  us  to  speed  away  on  the  return 
track. 

The  creature  was  now  struggling  more  desperately 
than  ever  to  free  himself  from  us,  and  with  every 
jump  exposed  a  side  to  the  thrusts  of  the  captain's 
lance.  Thrice  more  the  weapon  entered  the  vitals 
of  the  whale,  and  then  a  stream  of  blood  spouted 
from  the  nostril  on  the  top  of  his  head. 

"  Slack — slack.     Stern  all !     yelled  the  captain. 

Jim  let  the  line  out  around  the  loggerhead  while 
I  attended  to  straightening  the  kinks  in  it,  and  the 
other  boys  got  their  oars  out  and  did  their  best  to 
stop  the  headway  of  the  boat. 

When  I  was  again  able  to  look  for  him,  the  whale 
had  disappeared  under  the  water;  but  a  few  seconds 
later  he  suddenly  leaped  above  the  surface  with  his 
whole  form,  and  went  flapping  about  in  his  death 
throes.  Ten  seconds  after  that  the  animal  subsided 
and  was  at  peace. 

As  the  side  flipper  of  the  dead  whale  rolled  to  the 
surface,  the  brig  could  be  seen  some  miles  to  lee- 
ward, doing  her  best  to  come  up  to  us.  The  other 
boats  were  at  short  distances  from  us,  their  crews 
resting  upon  the  oars.  An  hour  later  the  vessel 
hove  to  close  by,  and  we  gathered  the  dead  killers 
together  at  her  side. 

Six  of  the  animals  had  fallen  victims  to  our  attack 


66  On  Board  a  Whaler 

in  spite  of  all  immunity  enjoyed  by  them,  and  were 
now  safely  moored  to  the  brig.  The  mate  had 
killed  three  of  them  with  his  hand-lance ;  the  second 
mate  had  killed  one  with  his  lance,  and  wasted  a 
bomb  upon  another  that  we  did  not  find ;  while  we 
had  scored  two,  both  of  which  we  had  secured. 

It  was  dark  before  the  last  of  the  whales  was 
finally  picked  up  and  tied  to  the  brig;  and  then  we 
were  permitted  to  go  below  for  a  rest  preparatory 
to  the  work  that  was  to  come. 

If  whaling  were  made  up  wholly  of  the  pursuit 
and  killing  of  the  game,  by  persons  adapted  by 
nature  for  it,  the  life  would  be  indescribably  agree- 
able. In  the  midst  of  a  school  of  these  monsters 
men  experience  a  peculiarly  exhilarating  excitement, 
an  intoxication  of  bewildering  delight  to  be  found 
nowhere  else.  But  the  chases  constitute  an  incon- 
siderable part  of  such  voyages,  and  are  often  pre- 
ceded by  months  of  idleness,  to  be  followed  by  days 
of  tremendous  toil.  Often,  after  lying  about  for 
weeks  with  none  but  the  lightest  work  to  be  done, 
until  their  muscles  have  become  relaxed  and  soft  as 
those  of  a  baby,  the  men  are  suddenly  called  upon 
for  herculean  feats  in  the  chase  to  be  supplemented 
by  unremitting,  continuous  labor  for  weeks. 

The  pursuit  of  whales  usually  taxed  our  powers 
to  the  utmost;  the  work  after  a  successful  chase 
never  failed  to  exhaust  them. 


Killers  67 

We  had  now  a  week  of  this  hard  work  before  us. 
These  were  not  blackfish,  but  substantial  whales. 
They  were  by  no.  means  so  large  or  so  valuable  as 
other  whales  we  were  to  come  upon ;  but  they  were 
too  large  and  too  many  to  be  taken  in  on  our  decks, 
as  had  been  done  with  the  smaller  whales,  and  they 
were  worth  too  much  to  allow  of  being  cut  adrift. 
If  we  had  killed  only  one  or  two  of  these  killers, 
not  improbably  we  might  have  hoisted  them  on 
board,  although  it  would  have  been  a  hard  tug  for 
us;  but  there  was  no  talk  of  taking  six  of  them  to 
the  decks. 

The  next  morning  our  killers  all  lay  alongside, 
the  most  graceful  in  outline  and  beautiful  in  color- 
ing of  any  whales  we  were  to  see.  There  was 
nothing  either  ungainly  or  disgusting  about  their 
looks.  The  head,  comparatively  small  and  rounded, 
was  well  adapted  for  cutting  its  way  through  the 
water,  thus  accounting  to  some  degree  for  the  won- 
derful flights  of  the  animal. 

The  back  of  each  of  them  was  surmounted  by  a 
triangular  fin  that  commenced  just  back  of  the  head, 
and,  rising  in  a  graceful  backward  sweep  to  a  height 
of  five  or  six  feet,  ended  in  an  almost  sharp  point. 
It  was  of  the  same  bluish  color  as  the  back,  and, 
when  the  animal  swam  in  life,  stood  either  quite 
erect,  or  was  a  little  lopped  to  one  side  near  its  end. 

The  mouth,  however,  held  the  greatest  fascina- 


68  On  Board  a  Whaler 

tion  for  me.  A  more  powerful  or  more  complete 
cutting  machine  could  hardly  be  contrived  of  flesh 
and  bone.  The  partially  opened  jaws  disclosed 
rows  of  strong,  conical,  ivory  teeth  on  both  the 
upper  and  lower  jaws,  so  distributed  that  when  the 
mouth  was  shut  the  upper  teeth  fitted  precisely  be- 
tween the  lower  set,  making  the  most  formidable 
armament  provided  by  nature  for  any  living  animal ; 
while  from  the  corner  of  the  mouth  to  the  free  ends 
of  the  jaws  was  a  length  sufficient  to  afford  exten- 
sion for  grasping  one  of  our  boats.  It  was  lucky, 
that  their  owners  did  not  choose  to  employ  them  in 
that  way  against  us. 

The  smallest  of  the  whales  was  probably  eighteen 
feet  in  length,  and  the  largest  of  them  may  have 
been  six  feet  longer.  We  took  no  measurements  of 
them,  and  I  am  obliged  to  estimate  their  size  from 
memory  of  their  appearance.  Just  back  of  the 
head  the  bodies  were  something  like  three  feet  in 
diameter,  gradually  swelling  out  toward  the  middle 
to  four  or  five  feet,  and  thence  tapering  on  fine, 
curving  lines  down  to  a  few  inches  where  they 
joined  the  tails.  The  flukes  must  have  measured 
about  four  feet  from  tip  to  tip,  and  were  of  the 
usual  form.  The  backs  and  upper  portions  of  the 
sides  of  the  animals  were  smooth,  glossy,  and  blue- 
black  in  color,  the  under  parts  being  pearly  white. 
There  was  no  blending  of  the  colors,  but  each  was 


Killers 


69 


sharply  defined,  and  arranged  in  artistic,  symmetri- 
cal patterns  over  the  bodies. 

All  in  all,  a  more  elegant  or  a  more  terrible  mon- 
ster than  the  killer  to  look  upon  did  not  come  under 
our  observation  during  the  voyage. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

GRUMBLING— HABITS   OF   KILLERS— CUTTING 

THE  tick-tack,  tick-tack,  tick-tack  of  Time  goes 
unceasingly  on,  forever  and  forever.  Not  so 
with  the  thoughts  of  man.  Of  all  earthly  things, 
they  alone  are  uncontrolled  by  relentless  law;  and 
it  remains  my  privilege  to  turn  back  the  hours  of 
my  story  and  begin  at  a  time  overleaped. 

The  night  before,  weary  and  cross,  the  boys  had 
thrown  themselves  into  their  berths,  muttering: 

"  Mighty  tough." 

M  Wisht  the  brutes  had  sunk  before  ever  we  run 
icrost  'em!  " 

And  at  daylight  the  next  morning,  when  we 
rolled  out  in  response  to  the  summons  resounding 
in  the  gangway,  the  grumbling  was  renewed : 

"  S'pose  the'  '11  work  the  life  outen  us  now." 

"  Ye-ah,  an'  I  'm  that  blamed  sore  I  can't  move 
'thout  scringin'." 

Each  in  turn  yawned,  rubbed  his  eyes,  fumbled 
sleepily   for   his   clothes,   in  the  meanwhile  giving 

70 


Habits  of  Killers  71 

voice  to  uncomplimentary  sentiments  concerning 
the  whaling  business,  the  officers,  and  themselves, 
until  another  side  was  shown  them  by  Jim,  who 
shouted  down  to  us: 

"  Say,  boys,  the  oF  man  's  ordered  the  steward 
ter  make  yeh  some  hot  biscuits  an'  coffee  afore  yeh 
turn  to.     How  's  that  ?  " 

No  transformation  could  be  more  complete  than 
was  instantly  worked  by  that  speech. 

Every  boy  began  bustling  about  preparing  for  the 
coming  banquet.  Pans,  cups,  forks,  spoons,  under- 
went rubbings  from  shirt-sleeves  or  oakum,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  habits  of  the  individuals,  and 
tongues  that  were  before  mum  commenced  wagging. 

M  Say,  fellers,  what  jeh  think  o'  killers,  anyway — 
the'  look  sort  o'  uppish,  don't  the'?"  inquired 
Frank  cheerily. 

*'  Never  knowed  the'  was  no  killers  afore,'* 
Reddy  acknowledged  without  shame. 

"  I  nuther,"  Frank  admitted.  "Where  's  Jack? 
Mebbe  he  c'n  tell  us  suthin'  about  'em." 

"  He  's  on  deck,"  spoke  up  Johnson.  "  Brown 
can't  do  a  thing  without  him.  Whenever  he  wants 
to  sneeze,  he  grabs  hold  of  his  nose  and  sings  out, 
1  Je-]e-]a.-jack  !  '  to  beat  the  Dutch !  "  Then,  as  the 
laugh  following  this  sally  moderated,  the  boy  went 
on: 

H  But,  say,  Brown  told  us  a  lot  about  killers  while 


72  On  Board  a  Whaler 

we  were  waiting  for  the  brig  to  come  down  to  us 
yesterday.  He  says  them  fellers  live  off  of  other 
whales  and  every  other  blessed  thing  they  can  catch 
in  the  sea.  When  they  're  hungry — which  is  just 
always — they  '11  tackle  any  old  thing  the'  come 
acrost — sperm  whales,  or  anything  else  that  happens 
to  be  laying  'round.  He  told  us  he  saw  a  dozen  of 
'em  once  pitching  on  to  an  old  bowhead  up  in  the 
Arctic,  and  they  just  tore  the  tongue  out  of  his 
mouth  before  they  left  him.  They  got  the  bowhead 
afterwards — Brown  did — and  the'  found  the  killers 
had  just  snaked  that  tongue  clean  out  by  the  roots." 
"  That  's  what  them  teeth  's  made  for,"  Frank 
suggested. 

Making  no  answer,  Johnson  went  on : 
M  He  saw  a  lot  more  of  'em  at  a  sperm  whale 
once,  too.  They  were  simply  drowning  him.  Yeh 
know  a  whale  breathes  air  the  same  as  we  do,  and 
you  can  drown  one  of  'em  just  like  you  would 
smother  one  of  us.  He  said  one  of  those  killers 
would  jump  square  atop  of  the  whale  and  grab  hold 
of  him  right  over  the  spout  hole,  and  then  hang 
there  like  an  old  bulldog.  The  whale  would  lift 
his  head  blame  near  fifty  feet  out  of  the  water,  with 
that  killer  clinging  to  him  like  a  leech;  and  then 
he  'd  prance  and  flounce  'round  in  that  shape  for 
half  a  minute  before  the  dummed  killer  would  let 
go,  and,   when  the*  thing  finally  would  drop,  the 


Habits  of  Killers  73 

whale  would  slump  back  all  in  a  heap,  limber  as 
such  an  old  stick  can  be.  Then,  in  another  second, 
up  would  come  another  killer  at  the  same  old  game, 
and  there  'd  be  another  tussle  like  the  first  one, 
until  they  just  simply  drowned  that  sperm  bull 
right  there." 

"  I  knowed  by  the  look  uv  'em  the*  could  fight," 
put  in  Reddy,  "  but  I  did  n't  s'pose  the'  was 
nothin'  as  could  lick  a  big  sperm  whale." 

M  He  did  n't  say  one  could.  Yeh  see,  they  got  a 
lot  of  'em  'round  'im  all  at  once,  and  did  n't  give 
him  a  bit  o'  show  to  hit  'em,"  explained  Johnson. 

'■  The  biggest  yarn  he  told  us,  though,  was  about 
a  lot  of  killers  taking  a  whale  away  from  a  ship's 
boats.  He  said  they  got  a  right  whale  flipper  up 
somewhere,  when  all  to  wunst  up  bobs  a  school 
of  these  fellers  right  beside  their  whale,  and  went 
to  eating  him  up  before  their  very  eyes.  They  had 
four  boats — they  were  in  a  full-rigged  ship  that 
time  —  and  all  hands  let  into  those  killers  with 
lances,  spades,  oars,  and  every  blessed  thing  they 
could  lay  holt  of,  trying  to  drive  the  critters  away. 
But  't  wa'n't  any  use.  The  killers  were  hungry,  and 
the'  stayed  right  with  it,  and  just  ripped  and  tore 
'round  about  their  bird's-egging  as  if  there  wa'n't  a 
boat  in  a  thousand  miles  of  'em.  After  a  while 
the  blamed  whale  sunk,  and  all  the  boys  had  left 
was  four  killers  floating  around  there  dead." 


74  On  Board  a  Whaler 

"  I  wonder  they  had  n't  gone  for  the  boats," 
said  Frank.  "  Why  did  n't  the',  d'  yeh  s'pose  ? 
If  I  'd  be'n  them,  I  'da  done  it,  sure." 

"■  Oh,  I  dunno!  Mebbe  there  was  n't  anything 
in  it.  I  guess  it  's  pretty  hard  to  tell  just  where 
the  truth  ends  and  fiction  sets  in  with  an  old  whaler 
after  he  starts  to  tell  what  he  's  seen.  The  whole 
plaguey  business  sounded  to  me  like  a  lot  o'  yarns, 
but  I  dunno,"  responded  Johnson. 

44  Here  yeh  be.  Coffee  an*  biscuits,  allee  samee 
fust-classee  hotellee,"  Nye  announced  from  the 
deck,  and  our  talk  ended. 

Biscuits  and  coffee  fresh  from  the  hands  of  the 
cabin  steward  were  very  different  from  biscuits  and 
coffee  furnished  by  the  cook,  and  they  now  com- 
manded our  exclusive  attention.  The  bread  was 
light  and  sweet,  the  drink  hot,  and,  to  us,  delicious. 
The  pork,  potatoes,  and  hardtack,  though  they  ac- 
companied the  feast,  went  begging. 

V  Hey,  what!  This  's  more  like.  Hoo-o-om 
yum,  but  these  are  good,  boys,"  Johnson  declared. 

"  Here,  somebuddy  call  Nye  back!"  shrieked 
another  boy.  "  The'  's  suthin'  alfired  wrong. 
Jerusalem!  we  can't  never  stand  no  sich — we  don't 
want  no  weak  butter,  not  at  this  end  o'  the  ship." 

*'  Hush  up,  sonny.  The  ol'  man  's  been  a 
churnin'.  Can't  yeh  let  'im  have  his  way  once  in 
a  while,  yeh  goose!  " 


Habits  of  Killers  75 

So  it  went  until  the  meal  was  finished,  our  spirits 
rising  as  the  biscuits  went  down;  and,  after  that, 
light-hearted  and  merry,  without  waiting  to  be 
called,  we  flocked  to  the  deck  and  our  duty. 

As  we  came  out  of  the  forecastle  gangway,  the 
brig  was  lying  to  under  short  sail.  The  air  was  soft 
and  cool,  reminding  me  so  much  of  a  spring  morn- 
ing at  home  that  I  seemed  to  hear  the  chirping  of  a 
robin.  But  no<-  birds,  or  songs,  or  spring  flowers 
were  there ;  nothing  broke  the  silence  of  the  ocean 
calm  but  the  occasional  splash  of  a  shark  in  the 
water  and  the  bustle  of  preparations  for  the  work 
to  begin. 

I  stepped  to  the  railing  and  looked  over  at  the 
killers.  All  of  them  were  there,  but  not  now  alone. 
The  water  was  alive  with  scavengers,  ready  to  per- 
form the  part  in  life  assigned  to  them. 

It  has  remained  a  mystery  to  me  where  these 
sharks  came  from  that  day.  Up  to  that  moment, 
I  think,  we  had  not  seen  a  shark;  yet  here  they 
were  swarming  all  about  us.  The  same  thing  oc- 
curred on  similar  occasions  after  that.  In  a  little 
while,  not  seldom  before  the  dead  whale  was  along- 
side, the  hooked  fins  of  these  wolves  would  be  seen 
rising  three  or  four  inches  above  the  surface  of  the 
water,  and  coming  by  hundreds  toward  the  carcase. 

They  were  not  all  of  one  species,  but  were  made 
up  of  many  sorts  and  sizes,  from  little  gray  fellows 


76  On  Board  a  Whaler 

three  or  four  feet  in  length,  to  blue,  man-eating 
sharks  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet. 

In  port,  we  frequently  saw  sharks  swimming 
around  the  vessel,  and  we  came  upon  a  few  lone 
wanderers  in  midocean;  but,  unless  we  killed  a 
whale,  they  were  rarely  enough  seen  by  us.  Let 
blood  be  shed,  though  it  be  thousands  of  miles 
from  shore,  and  they  surrounded  us  in  schools. 

I  was  allowed  but  a  moment  to  look  before  Nye 
said  to  me,  "  The  ol'  man  wants  yeh  aft,  Tom," 
and  I  passed  on  to  the  quarter-deck. 

As  I  came  to  the  captain  and  saluted,  he  pointed 
to  a  large  shark  that  was  just  pushing  his  head  on  to 
one  of  the  killers  below  us. 

"  Do  yeh  see  that  feller  ?  M 

The  shark  made  off,  leaving  behind  him  a  round 
hole  in  the  blubber  of  the  whale,  and  the  captain 
continued:  "  That  ol'  cuss  took  suthin'  like  half  a 
dollar  that  bite.  He  must  ha'  took  mighty  clost  to 
a  gallon  o'  ile.  You  git  here  in  the  boat  and  fetch 
the  next  feller  that  tries  that  on  with  a  lance. 
Don't  let  'em  git  a  holt  afore  yeh  hit  'em  nuther." 

The  captain  stood  by  and  watched  until  I  sent 
the  lance  down  through  the  back  of  a  big  man- 
eater  that  had  come  within  reach. 

"  That  's  the  talk!  "  he  exclaimed.  "  Right  be- 
hind the  flippers  like  that  an'  the'  won't  come  agin 
— not  a  secont  time.     Now  keep  'em  off  a  spell." 


THE  CAPTAIN  STOOD  BY  AND  WATCHED,  UNTIL  I  SENT  THE  LANCE 
DOWN  THROUGH  THE  BACK  OF  A  BIQ  MAN-EATER." 


Cutting  77 

The  boat  in  which  I  had  thus  been  stationed 
hung  from  davits  just  off  the  quarter-deck,  where 
I  could  see  all  that  was  done  upon  the  whales. 
Three  of  them  were  moored  side  by  side  immedi- 
ately under  the  boat ;  one  lay  amidships,  where  it 
had  been  placed  for  the  work  of  the  morning;  and 
the  other  was  secured  nearer  the  bow. 

A  sort  of  gateway  had  been  opened  in  the  bul- 
wark opposite  the  killer  upon  which  the  work  was 
to  begin,  and  both  mates  were  standing  in  it  with 
their  long-handled  spades.  The  brig  sat  rather  low 
on  the  water  and  the  body  of  the  whale  could  be 
readily  reached  by  the  spades  without  the  building 
of  any  special  stages  to  stand  upon.  A  huge  hoist- 
ing-block had  been  fastened  near  the  foretop  on  the 
foremast,  and  its  mate  was  resting  on  the  deck  close 
by  the  gateway.  A  rope,  roven  through  both 
these  blocks,  extended  from  the  upper  one  down  to 
and  through  a  third  block  which  was  secured  to  the 
deck  on  the  right  of  the  try-works,  and  thence 
passed  on  forward  around  the  windlass,  where  a 
number  of  men  were  waiting  for  the  order  to  hoist 
away.  The  captain  was  standing  out  of  the  worst 
of  the  muss,  on  the  railing  near  me,  where  he  could 
oversee  and  direct  the  work  to  be  done. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  go  into  all  the  details  of 
the  process  of  cutting  in  these  whales.  In  the  first 
place,  after  the  lapse  of  so  many  years,  they  are  not 


7&  On  Board  a  Whaler 

all  fresh  in  my  memory;  and,  again,  it  is  doubtful 
whether  the  reader  would  be  much  interested  in 
them.  But  the  work  upon  these  killers  was  the 
simplest  of  its  kind,  and,  since  it  illustrates  the 
manner  of  dealing  with  whales  in  a  general  way,  its 
prominent  features  will  be  set  out. 

The  mates,  plying  their  spades,  commenced  just 
back  of  the  head,  and  cut  a  gash  several  feet  in 
length  along  the  body  of  the  killer  next  to  them ; 
then,  beginning  at  the  two  ends  of  that  gash,  they 
cut  through  the  blubber  in  parallel  lines  obliquely 
back  and  inwards  toward  the  side  of  the  brig  as  far 
as  they  could  reach.  By  this  means  a  flap  about 
three  feet  wide  and  three  feet  long  was  marked  out 
on  the  side  of  the  animal.  Then  Nye,  having  first 
secured  a  rope  about  his  waist,  dropped  down  on  to 
the  killer. 

The  carcase  was  lying  on  its  side;  the  smooth 
upper  surface,  rising  hardly  a  foot  above  the 
water,  afforded  an  uncertain  foothold  for  a  man.  A 
slip,  and  our  boat-steerer  would  be  among  the 
sharks,  dozens  of  which  lay  waiting  for  his  arrival ; 
but  no  slip  was  made,  and  what  might  have  been 
did  not  happen. 

A  spade,  similar  to  those  used  by  the  mates  but 
having  a  shorter  handle,  was  now  passed  to  Nye, 
who,  first  assuring  himself  that  his  footing  was 
good,  and  taking  a  survey  of  the  horde  of  wolves 


Cutting  79 

eying  him,  placed  it  in  the  gash  at  one  corner  of 
the  flap,  and,  prying  upon  it  as  a  gardener  raises  a 
sod,  quickly  dissected  a  large  piece  of  blubber  from 
the  body  beneath  him. 

M  All  ready,  sir,"  he  announced. 

Jim  now  joined  Nye  to  help  make  a  hole  through 
the  flap  preparatory  to  the  next  move.  The  heavy 
hoisting-block  was  then  lowered  over  the  side,  and 
its  wide  blubber  hook  passed  through  the  hole  in 
the  flap. 

"  Heave  away  there!  "  bawled  the  captain  to  the 
men  in  charge  of  the  windlass. 

A  noise  meant  for  a  song  arose  from  the  bow,  and 
the  big  machine  commenced  to  rumble  and  turn, 
winding  in  the  ropes  connected  with  the  blocks,  and 
our  cutting  in  was  fairly  under  way.  Slowly  but 
steadily  the  big  blubber  hook  came  up  the  side 
of  the  brig,  bringing  with  it  a  long  flap  of  blubber, 
while  the  mates  kept  their  spades  busy  cutting  the 
strip  longer.  Thus,  little  by  little,  the  whale  was 
rolled  over  and  over  as  he  was  unwound  from  his 
sheath  of  fat. 

The  oil  of  the  killer  is  found  in  a  layer  immedi- 
ately under  the  skin.  Such  a  layer  exists  on  all 
whales,  precisely  as  the  fat  is  found  upon  the  hog, 
and  is  known  as  blubber.  On  different  parts  of  the 
body  and  in  different  species  of  whales  it  varies  in 
thickness,  being  anywhere  from  an  inch  to  eighteen 


80  On  Board  a  Whaler 

and  even  more  inches  in  depth.  The  thickest  blub- 
ber on  these  killers  was  probably  five  inches  deep ; 
but  on  subsequent  occasions  we  were  to  see  it  much 
thicker. 

As  the  lower  block  by  means  of  which  the  blubber 
was  hoisted  reached  its  fellow  aloft,  another  hole 
was  made  in  the  blubber  near  the  body  of  the 
whale,  and  a  short  chain  inserted  temporarily  to 
secure  the  flap  to  the  side  of  the  vessel.  Then  the 
flap  was  cut  off  above  the  second  hole,  and  the  long 
"  blanket  piece  "  swung  in  and  lowered  to  the  deck, 
after  which  the  blubber  hook  was  passed  through 
the  new  hole,  and  the  hoisting  was  renewed.  So  it 
went  on,  piece  after  piece  twelve  or  fifteen  feet 
long  and  about  three  feet  wide  being  swung  in  upon 
our  deck,  until  by  nightfall  four  of  the  six  killers 
had  been  turned  out  of  their  hides  and  sent  adrift, 
the  heads  having  been  previously  severed  and 
hauled  on  board. 

When  compared  with  the  heavier  and  more  com- 
plicated process  in  cutting  in  a  sperm  whale,  it  was 
light  and  simple  work,  but  before  it  was  finally  done 
we  found  it  hard  enough  to  make  us  very  tired  of 
whaling. 

I  remained  in  the  boat  until  near  noon,  when  my 
place  was  taken  by  another  of  the  boys;  and,  after 
getting  something  to  eat,  I  was  set  at  work  at 
something  else. 


Cutting  8 1 

The  sharks  had  kept  me  very  busy.  Not  all  of 
them  that  came  near  ventured  an  attack  upon  the 
killers.  The  blue  sharks  alone  seemed  to  possess 
the  necessary  courage  or  ambition  for  that.  The 
others  hung  off  at  short  distances,  awaiting  the  time 
when  the  carcases  should  be  cut  adrift,  in  the  mean- 
time snatching  up  any  loose  bits  of  refuse  that 
might  float  among  them.  Not  a  few  of  them 
showed  a  strong  tendency  to  cannibalism,  and, 
without  waiting  for  the  life  to  depart  from  their 
agonized  brothers,  the  victims  of  my  lance,  eagerly 
devoured  them. 

When  I  first  began  the  slaughter  the  work  was 
delightful  to  me.  To  hurl*a  lance  through  the  vitals 
of  these  hated  of  all  hated  fishes  sent  a  thrill  of  pleas- 
ure all  through  me  ;  but,  as  the  hours  dragged 
along  and  the  thrusts  were  repeated  again  and  again 
for  hundreds  of  times,  it  became  monotonous  labor. 

A  big  shark  would  come  gliding  up  to  a  killer,  cau- 
tiously raising  his  shovel-like  nose  for  a  scooping 
bite  of  blubber, when  down  would  fly  my  lance  in  and 
through  his  body  just  back  of  the  side  fins,  and  that 
shark  would  cease  to  care  for  earthly  things.  In  a 
moment  he  would  go  whirling  around  and  around 
in  the  throes  of  dissolution,  followed  as  he  sank  by 
a  crowd  of  his  hungry  brothers,  tearing  and  pulling 
at  his  mangled  body.  It  was  even  amusing  for 
thirty  or  forty  times  to  see  this  horror  repeated; 

6 


82  On  Board  a  Whaler 

but  after  that  it  was  wearisome,  and  a  dull  sort  of 
compassion  for  the  unfortunate  creatures  took  the 
place  of  my  joy  in  the  work. 

Much  the  larger  number  of  the  sharks  gathered 
opposite  the  killer  amidships,  where  they  were  out 
of  reach  from  my  lance.  They  took  a  lively  in- 
terest in  what  was  going  on  there,  since  anything 
savoring  of  cruelty  or  blood  always  recommends 
itself  to  these  hyenas  of  the  ocean.  Now  and  then 
some  unusually  enterprising  member  of  the  school 
would  dash  in,  and  ripping  off  a  piece  of  flesh  make 
off  with  it  before  a  spade  thrust  could  be  given  to 
make  him  sorry,  when  the  entire  swarm  would  join 
in  a  chase  for  the  morsel,  just  as  we  have  seen 
chickens  or  pigs  do  over  choice  bits  on  shore;  but, 
for  the  most  part,  keeping  well  away  from  the 
sharpened  spades  of  the  officers,  they  lay  quiet  or 
swam  sluggishly  about  in  the  water,  greedily  eying 
the  red  flesh  as  it  was  unrolled  before  them.  Then 
at  last,  when  the  fat  had  been  all  peeled  from  the 
killer,  and  the  carcase  cast  off  to  make  room  for 
another,  there  would  be  a  scramble  for  first  place 
on  the  sinking  body,  and  the  huge  mass  would 
settle  slowly  out  of  sight  covered  with  the  squirm- 
ing, wriggling  demons. 

One  might  have  expected  that  with  the  turning 
loose  of  the  first  carcase  we  would  have  been  rid 
of  this  pack  of  sharks,  for,  although  rated  among 


Cutting  83 

the  smaller  whales,  the  killer  carries  several  tons  of 
eatable  flesh  on  his  bones;  but,  in  fact,  the  number 
of  sharks  hovering  about  the  brig  was  not  appre- 
ciably lessened  until  the  last  one  of  our  killers  had 
been  delivered  over  to  them  for  a  cleaning  up.  For 
a  short  time  after  one  of  the  carcases  was  sent  adrift 
there  would  be  a  thinning  in  the  swarm  ;  but,  within 
an  hour  afterwards,  the  water  would  be  again  full 
of  them,  seemingly  as  hungry  as  before. 

The  blubber,  when  taken  in  on  deck,  was  still  to 
be  sliced  before  it  was  fit  to  be  put  into  the  try- 
pots,  a  process  which  added  greatly  to  the  discom- 
fort and  ardor  of  our  toil.  Two  men  were  constantly 
employed  with  spades  cutting  off  the  ends  of  the 
blanket  pieces  into  strips.  These  strips,  each  three 
feet  long  and  three  inches  wide,  were  then  in  turn 
run  through  a  mincing  machine  operated  by  cranks. 
The  end  of  a  strip  would  be  placed  in  the  mouth  of 
the  machine  skin  side  down,  when,  upon  the  turn- 
ing of  the  cranks  by  the  men,  a  blade  would  cut 
through  the  fat  to,  but  not  through,  the  cuticle. 
A  start  being  thus  made,  the  strip  would  be  drawn 
a  fourth  of  an  inch  farther  into  the  mouth  of  the 
machine,  when  down  would  come  the  blade  for  a 
second  cut,  and  so  on  it  went  until  the  entire  strip 
had  been  made  into  thin  slices,  all  of  them  held  to- 
gether by  the  unsevered  skin,  and  the  blubber  was 
ready  for  the  try-pots. 


84  On  Board  a  Whaler 

If  you  place  fat  pork  upon  a  hot  spider  the  grease 
will  at  once  commence  running  out  over  the  iron ; 
and  in  just  that  way  the  oil  is  forced  from  whale 
blubber  on  shipboard. 

Two  large  iron  kettles,  much  like  the  soap  kettles 
of  our  grandmothers,  were  set  behind  the  foremast 
in  a  square  brick  framework,  and  under  them,  con- 
nected with  a  short  sheet-iron  pipe  for  draught,  was 
a  fireplace.  This  structure  constituted  our  try- 
works.  The  mincing  machine  stood  at  one  end  of 
it,  and,  as  the  blubber  was  sliced,  the  fat  was 
thrown  into  one  of  the  kettles,  where  a  boat-steerer 
kept  stirring  it  with  a  long  iron  fork  until  it  had  ac- 
quired the  proper  degree  of  frizzle,  after  which  it 
was  taken  out  of  the  kettle  and  tossed  upon  the 
"  scrap  "  pile,  to  be  used  as  fuel  for  trying  the  rest 
of  the  blubber.  In  this  way  each  whale  was  made 
to  furnish  the  fire  to  try  his  own  fat,  and  to  leave 
fuel  for  starting  in  upon  another  one. 

As  the  oil  accumulated  in  the  try-pots,  it  was 
baled  off  into  a  funnel  beside  the  works,  and  from 
there  conducted  into  a  metal  cooling  tank  standing 
close  by  the  main  hatchway;  and,  after  becoming 
sufficiently  cooled  there,  it  was  drawn  off  by  a 
syphon  into  casks  in  the  hold,  and  thus  stored. 

The  oil  as  so  prepared  had  nothing  of  the  pungent 
odor  of  the  oil  with  which  we  are  familiar  on  shore. 
It  was  almost  colorless  and  was  agreeable  to  the 


Cutting 


85 


taste.  During  the  first  three  days  of  the  work  we 
threw  our  hardtack  into  the  try-pots  to  cook,  and 
found  them  greatly  improved  in  flavor  by  the  oil ; 
and,  if  our  cook  had  seen  fit  to  use  it,  he  could 
have  added  materially  to  the  enjoyment  of  our 
meals  while  the  oil  remained  sweet. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE   WORK   CONTINUES 

ON  leaving  the  boat  on  that  first  day,  my  first 
work  was  at  the  crank  of  the  mincing 
machine,  where  for  two  hours  my  share  of  the  pro- 
duct was  certainly  well  earned.  Then  for  two 
hours  my  duty  was  to  take  the  blubber  from  the 
machine  and  toss  it  into  the  try-pots,  an  easier  if 
dirtier  job  than  that  at  the  cranks.  Then  I  fed  the 
blubber  through  the  machines  for  another  two 
hours.  The  windlass  was  kept  continuously  rolling, 
but  my  weight  was  rather  too  light  for  effective  use 
there,  so  I  was  kept  about  the  try-pots,  changing 
from  one  thing  to  another,  until  midnight,  when  I 
was  allowed  to  go  to  my  bunk  for  four  hours  of  sleep. 
In  an  instant  I  was  back  in  my  home.  My 
father,  looking  wonderfully  like  the  captain  of  the 
brig,  sat  at  the  breakfast  table  with  his  newspaper, 
and  mother  was  covering  my  buckwheat  cakes  with 
New  Orleans  syrup,  when  some  one  shook  me  by 
the  shoulder.     It  was  Frank. 

86 


The  Work  Continues  &7 

V  Come,  come,  come!  This  '11  never  do.  We  've 
got  to  git  suthin'  into  us  an'  go  at  it  agin.  Come, 
come,  hustle  up  here,  Tom." 

"  Oh,  bother!  "  I  growled.  "  Why  could  n't 
you  let  me  alone  until  I  had  had  those  flapjacks!  " 
Then,  joining  in  the  shout  which  followed,  I  con- 
tinued to  mourn.  "  Duin  it  all!  That  's  the  way 
when  you  dream  anything  good — you  never  quite 
get  what  you  are  after." 

Stiff  and  sore  from  heads  to  feet,  we  dressed  and 
climbed  on  deck.  A  strip  of  gray  on  the  eastern 
horizon  told  of  the  coming  day.  The  air  was  soft, 
still,  and  delightful.  To  be  sure,  there  was  a  faint 
odor  from  the  blubber  on  the  decks,  as  well  as  from 
the  bodies  over  the  side,  and  smoke  was  pouring 
from  the  pipe  on  the  works.  The  oil,  too,  bubbling 
and  boiling  in  the  kettles,  sent  out  its  steam  to  taint 
the  atmosphere;  yet,  when  compared  with  the 
reeking  stuffiness  of  the  den  we  had  left,  the  air 
was  pure.  The  mincing  machine  was  steadily 
clucking,  clacking,  clucking;  the  spades  could  be 
heard  thumping,  thumping,  thumping;  and  the  fire 
under  the  pots  crackled  and  flickered  brightly.  All 
about,  as  it  had  been  four  hours  before,  was  noise, 
bustle,  smoke,  and  confusion. 

It  took  but  a  moment  to  souse  our  heads  and 
faces  with  sea-water — not  with  any  idea  of  cleansing 
them,   but   to   refresh   ourselves  and  wake  us  up. 


88  On  Board  a  Whaler 

Cold  salt  water  and  whale  oil  do  not  mix  well;  but 
some  of  us  thought  the  bath  made  us  more  com- 
fortable ! 

Our  ablutions  thus  accomplished,  we  followed 
the  kid  back  down  into  the  forecastle  for  our  break- 
fasts. No  one  complained  that  morning  of  there 
being  any  mistake  about  our  fare,  and,  having  dis- 
patched the  regulation  diet  without  comment,  we 
reported  once  more  for  duty. 

I  had  expected  to  renew  my  work  around  the  try- 
pots,  but,  much  to  my  satisfaction,  was  ordered  at 
once  back  to  the  station  in  the  boat  instead,  where 
I  went  in  good  spirits. 

Reddy  had  been  in  the  boat  all  night,  but  had 
probably  fallen  asleep,  as  the  work  of  the  sharks 
upon  the  killers  under  the  boat  too  plainly  proved, 
and,  as  I  approached,  the  captain  was  in  the  middle 
of  a  tirade  against  him.  Dozens  of  white  spots, 
round  and  broad  as  hat  brims,  gleamed  up  through 
the  darkness  from  below,  to  convict  the  poor  fellow 
of  the  accusations  brought  against  him,  and  he 
slunk  willingly  away  when  I  reached  the  spot. 

It  was  still  too  dark  to  see  at  all  well,  but  the 
phosphorescent  lights  in  the  water  following  every 
movement  of  the  sharks  enabled  me  to  do  effective 
work  among  them  until  the  daylight  was  fully  re- 
stored, and  called  forth  the  commendation  of  the 
master, 


The  Work  Continues  89 

# 

■  You  're  'bout  the  slickest  at  that  of  any  feller 
we  've  got." 

Soon  after  daylight,  Nye  again  dropped  over  the 
side  on  to  one  of  the  remaining  killers,  and  a 
blanket  piece  was  quickly  started  from  his  body; 
and,  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  my  job  in 
the  boat  came  to  an  end  by  the  removal  of  the  last 
of  the  killers  to  its  place  opposite  the  gateway. 

We  had  not  yet  so  much  blubber  but  that  the 
master  wished  for  more  and  the  lookout  had  been 
steadily  maintained  at  the  masthead.  Frank  had 
been  rewarded  for  "  raising  "  the  killers  by  being 
stationed  aloft  a  large  share  of  the  time  while  the 
rest  of  us  were  engaged  in  cutting  in  the  whales,  but 
did  not  seem  to  have  been  regardful  of  the  captain's 
desires  in  that  respect,  as  may  be  gathered  from  his 
remarks  made  in  confidence  to  me  some  days  after 
we  had  cleaned  up: 

"  Say,  Tom,  if  you  fellers  had  n't  kep'  up  sech  a 
tarnal  racket,  mebbe  I  might  ha'  raised  a  nuther 
school  for  yeh.  Course,  I  knew  yeh  was  all  achin' 
for  me  to  do  it.  But,  do  yeh  know,  for  the  life  o' 
me,  I  could  n't  help  listen  to  the  oV  man  swear. 
Say,  he  must  ha'  graduated  some'ers  where  they 
teach  cuss  words,  eh !  'Sides,  I  had  ter  watch  that 
circus  o'  your  'n  down  there.  How  yeh  did  plug 
them  sharks!  What  a  lot  of  'em  the'  was,  too!  I 
started  in  to  count  'em  once  —  had  three  whacks  at 


90  On  Board  a  Whaler 

it,  fust  'n  last,  an'  come  out  diff'runt  ev'ry  time. 
Yeh  see,  yeh  could  n't  tell  when  yeh  got  done 
countin'  'em.  Yeh  'd  think  yeh  was  through,  and 
then  yed  'd  see  a  lot  yeh  knew  yeh  had  n't  teched ; 
or  else  yeh  'd  find  yeh  'd  be'n  countin'  of  'em  twice 
over.  Made  two  hundr'd  an'  ninety  once,  an' 
t'other  times  the'  was  more  an'  the'  was  less — yeh 
could  n't  keep  track  on  em'  no  way." 

It  is  not  probable  that  any  one  of  us  was  more 
faithful  during  that  week.  The  home  attractions 
were  far  too  strong  to  be  overcome  by  a  chance  of 
prolonging  our  work.  If  we  had  seen  whales,  we 
would  have  made  the  fact  known,  but  we  were  at 
no  trouble  to  discover  them. 

By  noon  of  the  second  day,  the  last  of  the  killers 
was  cut  loose,  and  had  gone  rapidly  out  of  sight 
under  its  load  of  wolves. 

Although  it  was  beyond  the  reach  of  robbers  in 
the  sea,  the  blubber  now  lying  in  heaps  on  our 
decks  was  exposed  to  a  still  more  formidable 
marauder.  The  sun  was  pouring  its  scalding  rays 
upon  the  fatty  piles,  and  oil  was  streaming  out  of 
them  and  flowing  along  the  scuppers  almost  as  freely 
as  it  was  trying  in  the  pots.  The  scupper  holes 
had  been  carefully  plugged,  but  the  glossy,  rainbow- 
tinted  water  everywhere  around  us  bore  ample 
testimony  to  the  escape  of  our  oil.  There  was  no 
time  for  star-gazing  or  theorizing  about  the  destiny 


The  Work  Continues  91 

of  man.  There  was  no  time  to  think  about  the  in- 
tolerable heat  and  glare  that  was  at  the  bottom  of 
our  hurry.  We  could  only  growl  and  work,  work, 
work,  sweltering  in  the  grease  twenty  hours  of  each 
twenty-four,  until  the  last  bit  of  blubber  had  been 
sliced  and  lay  simmering  in  the  kettles. 

Oil  was  everywhere — on  the  decks,  the  railings, 
the  masts,  the  sides,  the  rigging,  the  sails,  and  even 
in  our  beds.  We  had  left  our  work  at  midnight,  or 
at  whatever  hour  relief  came  to  us,  and  tumbled  into 
our  berths  saturated  with  it.  A  few  of  us  had 
rubbed  our  bodies  off  with  oakum  before  turning  in 
to  our  blankets,  but  the  greater  number,  long  before 
the  work  was  all  done,  thought  of  nothing  but 
needed  rest,  and,  heedless  of  consequences,  flung 
themselves  into  their  bunks  dripping  with  the  oil. 
In  the  end,  the  cleanest  berth  reeked  with  the  filthy 
fluid.  Since  the  work  had  begun,  the  floor  had 
been  left  uncared  for,  and  now  lay  hidden  under  an 
accumulation  of  scraps  of  biscuits,  potatoes,  meat, 
oakum,  and  litter,  simply  disgusting  to  look  at. 
We  had  had  neither  the  time  nor  the  strength  to 
pick  up  or  sweep  the  forecastle  until  now  it  seemed 
veritably  a  hog-pen. 

At  last  the  final  drop  of  oil  disappeared  from  the 
cooler  through  the  syphon,  and  the  bung  of  the  last 
cask  was  driven  in.  Some  fifty  barrels  of  fairly- 
good  oil  had  been  secured,  and  we  could  have  been 


92  On  Board  a  Whaler 

happy  in  the  prospect  of  a  good  rest ;  but,  alas !  the 
brig  must  be  cleaned  from  the  top  of  her  masts  to 
the  floor  of  our  den,  and  from  the  tip  of  her  bow- 
sprit to  the  rudder.  Not  only  that,  but  every  gar- 
ment we  wore,  and  every  comforter  in  our  bunks, 
must  be  cleansed  of  the  oil. 

I  think  none  of  us  realized  when  the  change  in  the 
oil  commenced,  although  we  stopped  frying  our 
hardtack  in  it  about  the  third  day.  The  bodies 
over  the  side  had  been  steeped  in  brine,  and  had 
not  become  very  offensive  to  us;  but  the  fat  on  the 
decks  had  not  been  thus  protected,  and,  before  it 
was  finally  all  rendered,  it  was  decidedly  pungent 
in  our  noses.  The  oil  in  the  try-pots,  too,  instead 
of  remaining  the  sweet,  amber-like  liquid  it  was  at 
first,  became  darker  in  color  and  slightly  rancid. 

No  person  who  has  never  been  through  it  can 
conceive  of  the  labor  entailed  on  our  crew  by  this 
necessity  for  cleaning  the  ship.  The  oil  had  soaked 
into  the  unpainted  woodwork  everywhere  about  the 
brig;  and,  after  we  had  scrubbed  it  off  from  some 
surface  where  we  did  not  wish  it  to  be,  a  moment 
of  exposure  to  the  blazing  sun  would  bring  out 
more  of  it,  and  the  back-aching  toil  was  to  be  gone 
all  over  again.  If  we  had  been  provided  with  suit- 
able means  for  prosecuting  the  work,  it  would  still 
have  been  hard  enough ;  but  sea-water,  sandstone, 
brushes,  and  human  sinews  were  our  only  resources. 


The  Work  Continues  93 

The  fresh  water  stored  in  the  brig  was  not  available 
for  such  uses.  We  were  not  allowed  even  to  wash 
our  faces  in  that.  We  had  nothing  better  than 
deck  buckets  for  clothes  tubs,  and  were  limited  to 
cold  brine  and  soap  for  dissolvents.  Indeed,  we 
were  practically  bound  to  the  cold  salt  water,  for, 
although  our  soap  had  been  highly  extolled  by  its 
seller,  it  proved  fit  for  nothing  but  to  be  dumped 
over  the  sides  to  the  sharks,  who,  had  they  been 
there,  would  most  likely  have  rejected  it. 

We  did  our  best  to  clean  up,  but  both  the  brig 
and  ourselves  remained  dirty  to  the  end  of  the 
voyage. 


CHAPTER  X 

LAND— DESERTIONS— A   NEW   DEAL 

FOR  some  time  before  we  came  upon  the  killers 
we  had  been  cruising  back  and  forth,  with  no 
definite  objective  point  in  view.  Whales  were  as 
likely  to  be  found  in  one  place  as  in  another  so  long 
as  we  remained  on  whaling  grounds.  Now  the 
captain  ordered  on  all  sail,  and,  day  after  day,  we 
shaped  our  course  by  the  compass,  with  no  varia- 
tion in  its  direction.  We  in  the  forecastle  were  not 
informed  of  our  destination,  but  all  of  us  knew  we 
were  bound  for  some  port,  and  became  feverishly 
anxious  to  reach  it. 

In  this  way,  propelled  by  light  breezes,  we  sailed 
on  for  more  than  a  week,  when  the  cry  we  were 
hoping  to  hear  came  from  aloft: 

**  La-a-a-and  ho-o-o!  La-a-a-and  ho-o-o!"  the 
first  word  lovingly  held  and  the  last  muffled  though 
drawled. 

We  were  in  sight  of  one  of  the  Azores  Islands, 
but,  as  yet,  the  report  could  not  be  confirmed  from 

94 


Land — Desertions — A  New  Deal    95 

my  post  at  the  wheel.  As  it  had  been  for  months, 
the  horizon  remained  a  line  of  unbroken  blue. 

The  captain  stepped  into  the  rigging  with  his 
glass  and  presently  announced  to  us: 

"  Ye-ah!     There  's  Flores,  dead  ahead." 

After  that  it  seemed  hours  before  a  faint  line 
could  be  discerned  from  the  deck  above  the  horizon 
— a  delicate  little  spider  web  marking  the  outline  of 
a  blue  haze  beneath  it  which  we  knew  to  be  land. 
It  was  such  a  small  island,  too,  looking  no  more 
than  a  foot  or  two  across;  but  what  wonderful  sen- 
sations the  sight  of  it  produced  on  the  crew!  It  is 
scarcely  the  subject  for  description — these  feelings 
at  the  first  sight  of  land  after  months  of  the  sea. 
To  be  appreciated  they  must  be  felt.  The  sailor 
may  love  the  sea.  It  is  possible  there  is  an  infatua- 
tion in  it  for  him  not  shared  by  others.  Of  that  I 
cannot  speak  with  knowledge.  But  certainly  never 
was  such  enthusiasm  displayed  on  our  vessel  as  was 
always  brought  out  in  the  crew  upon  hearing  that 
cry  of  "  La-a-and  ho-o-o!  "  Whatever  may  be  his 
love  of  mother  ocean,  there  is  no  question  but  he 
adores  his  mother  earth. 

We  lingered  on  the  railings,  on  the  bowsprit,  in 
the  rigging,  on  the  foretop,  everywhere  with  faces 
turned  in  the  one  direction,  eagerly  discussing  in 
our  minds  the  unfolding  picture  before  us;  while, 
little  by  little,  the  island  grew  larger,  wider,  taller, 


96  On  Board  a  Whaler 

and,  losing  its  haze  of  blue,  became  gray,  then 
brown,  and  finally  green,  as  it  stood  out  in  its  miles 
of  length.  Then,  almost  hidden  among  the  bluffs, 
the  little  village  of  Santa  Cruz  came  in  sight;  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  were  spread  to  the  breeze  at  our 
spanker  peak;  and  we  hove  to  opposite  a  landing 
place,  something  like  half  a  mile  from  the  shore. 

We  were  not,  however,  to  go  ashore.  The  cap- 
tain ordered  his  boat,  and  we  took  him  to  the  land- 
ing, a  short  stone  wharf  at  the  foot  of  a  steep  bluff, 
when  he  went  himself  ashore  to  make  arrangements 
for  a  supply  of  fresh  water,  leaving  us  sitting  in  the 
boat  to  await  his  return;  and  there  we  remained, 
stared  at  by  a  dozen  or  more  boys  and  girls  of  the 
town  who  had  come  down  to  look,  for  more  than  an 
hour,  when  he  came  back  and  we  rowed  him  out  to 
the  brig. 

In  our  absence  the  crew  had  broken  out  and  tied 
together  a  number  of  empty  casks,  which  were 
floating  beside  the  vessel  when  we  reached  her; 
and,  the  captain  having  given  place  in  the  boat  to 
Mr.  Bowman,  we  towed  the  casks  in  toward  the 
landing,  until  relieved  by  a  town  boat  about  half- 
way in  shore,  after  which  we  went  back  to  the  brig. 

It  was  not  deemed  safe  to  lie  so  near  shore  during 
the  night,  so  we  made  sail  again  and  stood  out  to 
sea.  The  next  morning  at  daybreak  we  again 
headed  for  the  island;   and,  within  an  hour  after 


Land — Desertions — A  New  Deal   97 

sunrise,  came  for  the  second  time  opposite  the 
town.  Several  shore  boats  were  there  waiting  for 
us  with  our  casks  all  filled  ;  and,  after  some  haggling 
in  mixed  Spanish  and  English  between  our  captain 
and  some  one  in  charge  of  the  boats,  we  hoisted 
the  casks  aboard  and  headed  away  from  the  little 
port. 

Our  disappointment  at  not  being  permitted  to 
land  upon  Flores  was  extreme,  and  we  grumbled 
about  it  all  that  day  and  late  into  the  night. 

V  The'  might  ha'  given  us  a  smell  o'  grass," 
Frank  insisted. 

\\  Huh!  we  don't  count.  What  difference  does 
it  make  to  him,  so  long  's  he  can  go  ashore,  whether 
we  do  or  not  ?  When  he  pulls  the  string  we  must 
dance,  that  's  all.  When  it  comes  to  having  any 
fun,  we  ain't  in  it,"  muttered  Johnson. 

A  few  words  from  our  officers  might  have  avoided 
all  this  discontent,  but  it  is  not  the  custom  for 
masters  of  ships  to  make  confidants  of  their  crews. 
The  master  is  absolute  and  his  will  the  law.  It 
seldom,  if  ever,  occurs  to  him  that  the  wishes  or  the 
feelings  of  his  men  should  be  in  the  least  consulted, 
or  that  it  is  worth  his  while  to  make  conciliatory 
explanations  when  it  becomes  necessary  or  expedi- 
ent to  run  counter  to  what  they  may  have  reason  to 
think  right.     He  is  entitled  to  do  Just  as  he  pleases, 

and  intends  to  do  so ;  hence,  from  his  standpoint, 

7 


98  On  Board  a  Whaler 

it  is  useless  to  waste  time  in  talking  over  plans  with 
his  crew. 

There  was  really  no  cause  for  serious  complaint 
on  this  particular  occasion,  and  a  word  or  two  from 
our  officers  would  have  satisfied  us  all.  The  island 
we  had  left  behind  us  offered  no  inducement  for 
pleasure  seekers.  Its  principal  town  was  an  out-of- 
date  collection  of  small  and  filthy  stone  shanties, 
and  its  people  among  the  lowest,  most  ignorant 
and  degraded  of  the  Portuguese  nation.  Its  shores 
were  rocky,  and  in  bad  weather  might  be  danger- 
ous; its  fields  were  few,  rough,  unfruitful,  and  for- 
bidding. The  island  of  Fayal  was  less  than  a 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  away,  and  while  we 
grumbled  we  were  speeding  under  all  sail  for  its 
principal  port.  There  we  would  find  letters  from 
home,  and  might  even  hope  to  meet  friends  or 
acquaintances  from  the  United  States.  The 
reasons  for  leaving  Flores  and  hastening  to  Fayal 
were  on  every  hand,  and  the  least  of  them,  had  it 
been  given  out,  would  have  silenced  us.  But 
nothing  was  said  to  any  of  us  about  where  we 
were  bound,  or  of  any  prospect  for  a  run  on  the 
shore,  and  a  sense  of  ill-treatment  was  left  rankling 
among  us,  which  later  on  bore  its  legitimate  fruit. 
The  consequences  of  this  custom  of  regarding  men 
as  unreasoning  machines  did  not  result  in  serious 
damage  to  the  owners  of  the  brig,  perhaps,  but  it  is 


Land — Desertions — A  New  Deal  99 

evident  that  a  happy,  satisfied  crew  must  always  be 
safer  for  the  ship  than  one  embittered  by  useless 
and  undeserved  degradation. 

The  next  morning,  dingy  and  smoke-capped  but 
grand  and  dome-like,  towering  seven  thousand  feet 
above  the  water,  Pico  stood  before  us;  while  to 
the  left  of  the  peak,  separated  from  it  by  a  narrow 
channel,  was  the  island  of  Fayal,  as  yet  looking  a 
hazy  blue ;  and  near  noon,  we  dropped  our  anchor 
in  its  port  of  Horta,  the  largest  town  in  the  Azores. 

Although  we  remained  at  this  port  a  week,  my 
recollections  of  the  island  are  rather  vague.  We 
were  first  visited  by  three  little  brown  men  in  uni- 
forms profusely  decorated  with  gold  tinsel.  For 
what  they  came,  or  who  or  what  they  were,  I 
neither  knew  or  cared  at  the  time.  I  was  too  busy 
in  my  own  affairs  to  speculate  concerning  theirs. 
After  they  had  gone,  the  captain  took  his  boat  and 
went  ashore,  landing  at  the  foot  of  some  stone  steps 
that  were  built  out  into  the  harbor.  A  soldier  in  a 
dark  blue  uniform,  slightly  decorated,  but  not  with 
tinsel,  was  pacing  back  and  forth  and  looking  very 
fierce  a  little  to  the  right  of  us. 

"  I  'd  give  a  quarter  ter  duck  that  feller,"  Jim 
whispered  to  me  as  we  stepped  on  to  the  dock. 

On  a  bluff  overlooking  the  harbor  to  the  right  of 
us  was  a  massive  stone  wall,  from  the  top  of  which 
bristled  a  few  old-fashioned  cannons.     Indeed,  as  I 


ioo  On  Board  a  Whaler 

now  remember  it,  everything  in  Horta  was  of  stone. 
The  houses  and  the  streets,  the  fences  and  the 
bowers,  the  very  hearts  of  the  people  and  the  backs 
of  their  donkeys, —  all  were  of  stone.  Even  the 
money  of  the  place  might  as  well  have  been  of 
stone,  it  had  so  little  value. 

But  it  is  not  my  purpose  to  dwell  upon  what  we 
saw  or  did  upon  this  piece  of  Portuguese  territory. 
It  has  been  too  often  and  well  described  by  others 
to  be  worth  my  while  here.  If  the  Anglo-Saxons 
could  ever  have  been  so  swarthy  and  dirty  and  gen- 
erally disreputable  as  the  islanders  we  were  thrown 
among  seemed  to  be,  it  is  probable  we  were  afforded 
a  glimpse  of  our  forefathers  of  the  fifteenth  century 
brought  down  unchanged  to  these  later  days. 

As  he  had  done  at  Flores,  the  captain  left  us  at 
the  landing  with  orders  to  remain  there  until  he 
came  back.  In  a  short  time  he  came  down  the 
steps  to  us  with  a  bag  of  letters,  and  we  rowed  out 
to  the  brig  with  it. 

While  we  were  gone  everything  had  been  made 
snug  on  the  vessel,  and  we  were  left  to  the  uninter- 
rupted enjoyment  of  our  letters.  Except  the  Bos- 
ton boys  and  Johnson,  all  received  one  or  more  of 
these  missives  from  home.  Johnson's  friends  did 
not  know  his  whereabouts ;  and  the  toughs  probably 
had  no  correspondents. 

If  only  it  comes  from  home,  and  finds  you  in  some 


Land — Desertions — A  New  Deal     101 

out-of-the-way  corner  of  the  earth  among  an  un- 
congenial people,  it  is  marvellous  how  much  of  bliss 
can  be  brought  within  the  bounds  of  one  small 
envelope;  and,  sitting  in  the  twilight  on  the  bow, 
each  with  his  bundle  of  letters,  Frank  and  I  eagerly 
devoured  and  exchanged  the  happy  tidings. 

When  the  last  letter  had  been  taken  from  the 
mail-bag,  and  Johnson's  name  had  not  been  called, 
I  understood  and  felt  something  of  his  disappoint- 
ment. Rationally,  he  should  not  have  hoped  to 
receive  anything  from  the  bag;  but  who  of  us  exer- 
cises his  reason  on  such  occasions  ?  He  had  hoped 
for  a  letter;  had  hoped  against  his  hope  and  his 
reason;  had  hoped  on  until  the  canvas  was  turned 
wrong  side  out  and  shaken ;  and  had  then  turned 
away  with  shame  and  homesickness  written  upon 
every  feature  of  his  strong  face. 

As  we  finished  reading  the  last  of  our  letters,  we 
saw  Johnson  by  the  railing,  with  his  gaze  fixed  on 
the  big  mountain  that  loomed  there  dark  and  grim. 
We  joined  him  there,  and  the  three  of  us  stood  for 
some  minutes  in  the  silent  gloom.  All  the  sympa- 
thy we  were  capable  of  giving  was  his  but  found  no 
expression  in  words,  until,  at  last,  I  slipped  my 
bundle  of  letters  into  his  hand.  "  There  may  be 
something  in  them  you  would  care  to  read,"  I  said, 
repressing  my  feelings.  He  made  no  reply,  but, 
keeping  the  package,  turned  and  went  below. 


102  On  Board  a  Whaler 

"  Putty  tough  on  'im,  hain't  it  ?  He  's  a  mighty 
good  feller,  and  it  's  too  bad — too  dummed  bad," 
Frank  commented. 

The  next  day  the  second  mate's  watch,  which 
included  Johnson  and  one  of  the  Boston  boys,  was 
given  liberty  on  shore.  Reddy,  who  belonged  in 
the  mate's  watch,  applied  for  leave  to  go  with  them, 
giving  as  his  reason  for  the  request  that  he  wished 
to  be  with  his  chum.  His  petition  was  granted, 
and  he  went  with  the  others  for  the  day.  When 
night  came,  Johnson,  Reddy,  and  the  tough  were 
all  missing. 

The  following  day  our  watch  was  given  a  day  on 
shore,  and  we  were  instructed  to  keep  a  lookout 
for  the  truants. 

It  is  not  at  all  unusual  for  sailors  to  fall  into  bad 
company  while  on  liberty  ashore,  and,  after  a  dis- 
graceful drunken  debauch,  •  to  fall  asleep  in  some 
out-of-the-way  hole,  from  which,  in  due  time,  they 
emerge  already  sufficiently  punished;  and  it  was 
not  yet  believed  by  our  officers  that  the  boys  had 
deserted  the  brig.  It  was  known  that  the  toughs 
would  drink;  and  Johnson's  habits  in  this  respect 
were  unknown  to  us. 

We  had  spent  the  day  without  falling  in  with 
either  of  the  missing  boys,  and  were  waiting  at  the 
landing  for  the  mate,  whose  habits  were  apt  to 
cause  some  delay  in  getting  on  board  the  brig  after 


Land — Desertions — A  New  Deal    103 

a  day  of  liberty,  when  a  small  boy  ran  down  the 
steps  among  us.  The  crew  generally  was  in  a  state 
of  semi-intoxication  that  made  it  unobservant,  and 
no  one  seemed  to  notice  this  boy  as  he  bustled  in 
and  out  among  us,  scanning  each  face  in  its  turn 
until  he  came  to  me. 

"  Sefior  Tom  ? "  he  whispered. 

I  nodded  assent  to  his  inquiry. 

Then  he  slipped  a  bundle  of  letters  into  my  hand 
and  darted  through  the  crowd  and  up  the  steps. 

I  knew  now  that  Johnson  had  intentionally  de- 
serted the  ship,  but  did  not  feel  it  to  be  my  duty  to 
frustrate  his  design  by  informing  the  boys  of  what 
had  happened.  So  I  buttoned  the  bundle  inside 
my  jacket  and  kept  it  there  until  it  could  be  safely 
opened  on  board,  and  then  found  concealed  in  the 
middle  of  it  this  note: 

My  dear  Old  Tom: — You  will  not  give  us  away, 
and  I  want  to  return  your  letters,  and  to  thank  you  for 
the  chance  to  read  them.  Your  people  are  so  much  like 
my  own,  that  the  letters  seem  almost  as  if  they  were 
written  directly  for  me. 

We  have  left  you  for  good,  and  are  where  the  old  man 
won't  find  us  in  a  hurry.  When  he  would  n't  let  us 
ashore  on  Flores,  I  made  up  my  mind  to  this.  That 
was  a  scurvy  mean  trick,  and  it  can't  be  tried  twice  on 
your  uncle. 

If  we  had  thought  you  would  have  come  with  us,  we 
would  have  asked  you;  but  we  knew  you  would  n't  do 
it.     You  are  straighter  than  we  are  and  could  never  hide. 


104  On  Board  a  Whaler 

The  toughs  are  dandies  at  it.  Neither  you  or  I  ever 
could  have  hidden  as  these  fellows  do  —  we  wouldn't 
have  known  how.  They  are  adepts  at  skulking  and  I 
am  fast  learning  the  trade. 

If  you  find  anything  loose  that  used  to  belong  to  me, 
put  it  in  your  trunk,  for  it  is  yours  now.  I  wish  you  no 
end  of  luck.  Of  course,  you  will  keep  on  and  get  to  be 
11  old  man  "  yourself.  If  you  do,  though,  don't  forget 
the  days  when  you  sailed  before  the  mast.  For  me,  I  've 
had  enough  and  am  bound  home  to  stay.  The  boys  are 
all  right,  but  hang  whaling,  I  say.  There  is  neither  fun 
or  money  in  it  for  me.     Good-bye.  J. 

I  said  nothing  of  the  receipt  of  this  letter  to  any- 
body, and  all  search  for  the  deserters  proved  un- 
availing, so  the  captain  was  obliged  to  replace  them 
by  Portuguese  from  the  island,  of  whom  he  ex- 
pressed his  opinion  to  the  mate: 

"  These  here  fellers  hain't  Yankees;  an'  there  's 
no  use  gittin'  less  than  four  on  'em." 

This  addition  to  our  number  in  the  forecastle  re- 
quired a  new  distribution  of  the  berths.  Logically, 
since  Johnson  had  been  my  bunk  mate,  one  of  the 
newcomers  would  be  bunked  with  me;  but  I  looked 
them  over  and  openly  rebelled. 

I  was  not  uninformed  of  or  disloyal  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  democracy  upon  which  our  politics  rest, 
but  as  those  men  came  down  into  our  den,  bringing 
their  swarthy  skins,  their  uncombed  hair,  their 
treacherous  black  eyes,  and  their  general  untidiness, 
our  declaration  of  the  equality  of  men  took  on  a 


Land — Desertions — A  New  Deal     105 

more  definite  shape  to  my  mind.  The  equality 
declared  by  us  was,  after  all,  only  an  equality  in 
rights  under  the  law;  an  equality  which  did  not  of 
necessity  admit  every  man  to  share  your  bed. 
These  men  were  welcome  to  an  equal  share  of  the 
salt  meat,  of  the  hardtack,  of  the  potatoes  and  the 
coffee,  and  of  the  drudgery  of  the  life  we  endured 
— those  were  rights  given  them  by  the  law ;  but  a 
logic  or  a  political  declaration  that  would  force  one 
of  these  fellows  upon  me  as  a  bed-fellow  was  clearly 
bad.  Life,  liberty,  and  happiness  could  not  be 
agreeably  pursued  by  me  in  such  intimate  relation- 
ship with  these  men. 

In  my  dismay  I  lost  control  of  my  good  sense  for 
the  moment,  to  become  silly. 

"Look  here,  boys,  there  's  got  to  be  a  new  deal. 
Unless  he  comes  to  me  by  fair  lot  with  the  rest, 
I  '11  not  have  one  of  those  fellows  in  with  me,"  I 
declared,  too  hotly. 

Reddy  had  bunked  with  Jack,  to  whose  mind 
logic   was   logic,    and    my   manner    irritated    him. 

Mebbe  yeh  'd  like  ter  put  two  on  'em  in  with  me 
then,"  he  shouted. 

"  I  don't  care  whether  you  have  two  or  four,"  I 
snapped  back.     '■'  /won't  have  'em." 

Aside  from  being  the  largest  boy  among  us,  Jack 
was  possessed  of  a  quick  and  violent  temper,  backed 
by  undaunted  courage.     Now  he  jerked  off  his  coat 


106  On  Board  a  Whaler 

and  stood  up  menacing  me.  "  One  o'  them  fellers 
takes  Johnson's  place,  sonny,  or  we  '11  known  in 
about  *a.  minute  who  's  a  whipper-snapper,  you  o' 
me,"  he  yelled. 

My  own  coat  was  flung  off  and  there  would  un- 
doubtedly have  been  an  unfortunate  fight  but  for 
Frank,  who  interposed  between  us.  "  Hold  on  now, 
boys,"  he  said  coolly,  with  a  hand  on  each  of  us; 
11  we  hain't  had  none  o'  this  sort  o'  thing,  and  we 
don't  need  none  of  it  now." 

"I  've  stood  all  the  bully  in'  I  'm  going  to 
stand,"  I  commenced ;  but  he  turned  squarely  upon 
me. 

"  Hold  y'r  tongue,  Tom.  Y'r  mad,  that  's  all. 
Wait  'til  yeh  're  cooled  a  bit,  and  then,  if  you 
fellers  want  to  fight,  we  '11  fix  things  and  see  fair 
play."  And,  with  Jack  and  myself  glaring  at  each 
other  past  him,  he  continued  still  more  calmly : ' '  We 
all  know  either  one  of  yeh  would  fight  any  time 
there  was  any  need  to  fight,  but  there  hain't  no  sense 
in  it  now.  Why,  boys,  there's  four  o'  these  chaps. 
What  's  the  matter  with  givin'  of  'em  two  o'  the 
bunks,  and  the  rest  of  us  doublin'  up  ?  The'  don't 
none  of  us  want  'em,  I  guess.  I  know  /  don't. 
Toughy  wa'n't  none  too  clean  for  me;  and  these 
fellers  is  all  a  blamed  sight  wuss." 

Jack's  anger  was  by  this  time  gone.  "  Why  'n 
thunder  did  n't  we  have  brains  enough  ter  think  o' 


Land — Desertions — A  New  Deal     107 


that  afore  we  went  ter  kickin'  up  sech  a of  a 

racket,  Tom  ?  Say,  I  hain't  in  your  watch.  What 
d'  yeh  say  to  my  bunkin'  'long  o'  you,  eh  ? " 

"  That  's  all  right.  Nothin'  would  suit  me  bet- 
ter,"  I   responded  heartily,   with  extended  hand. 

Come  on  and  do  it." 

So  our  trouble  ended  by  Jack  taking  Johnson's 
place  in  my  bunk. 


CHAPTER  XI 


JACK  AS   A   TONSORIAL  ARTIST 


THE  newcomers  had  stood  by  in  utter  ignorance 
of  the  cause  of  all  the  disturbance.  Knowing 
not  a  word  of  English,  they  must  have  been  be- 
wildered by  the  noise. 

One  of  them  was  a  tall,  heavily  built  young  fel- 
low, named  Antone.  The  others  were  short 
underfed  boys,  one  of  whom  was  also  named  An- 
tone, and  both  the  others  gave  their  names  as  Joe. 
We  at  once  classified  the  Antones  as  big  and  little, 
but  deliberately  converted  one  of  the  Joes  into  Pete. 

They  were  dressed  precisely  as  we  were,  and 
not  improbably  looked  quite  as  respectable  as  did 
any  of  us.  Their  features  were  rather  more  regular 
than  ours,  and  their  clothes,  fresh  from  the  stores 
of  the  brig,  were  much  cleaner.  It  may  be  doubted 
whether  on  coming  on  board  a  stranger  might  not 
have  chosen  either  of  them  in  preference  to  one  of 
us  for  his  bunk  mate,  if  he  had  missed  what  caught 
the  eye  of  one  of  our  number. 

108 


Jack  as  a  Tonsorial  Artist        109 

"  Gee  whiz,  they  're  lousy!  "  he  exclaimed. 

A  closer  inspection  of  the  shining  black  locks  of 
the  men  confirmed  this  statement.  Nits  gleamed 
throughout  the  dark  masses. 

V  The'  's  only  one  thing  to  be  done.  Them 
heads  has  got  to  be  shaved,"  Jack  announced  with 
decision. 

It  is  not  usual  for  whaling  ships  to  be  free  of  ver- 
min, and  our  brig  was  by  no  means  so ;  but  up  to 
that  time,  the  species  of  vermin  had  been  limited 
to  cockroaches  and  rats.  The  cockroaches,  although 
often  something  like  two  inches  in  length,  and  always 
fond  of  toenails,  did  not  annoy  us  greatly.  They 
were  very  numerous,  and  upon  the  rolling  aside  of 
our  blankets  rattled  and  clattered  away  in  swarms ; 
but,  aside  from  the  noise  and  their  ugly  appear- 
ance, they  were  entirely  harmless.  Having  learned 
that  our  tempers  were  vicious  and  our  company 
dangerous  to  them,  the  rats  kept  as  much  as  pos- 
sible out  of  our  sight.  The  bugs,  being  less  intelli- 
gent than  the  rats,  had  suffered  many  a  cleaning 
out,  but  with  no  apparent  loss  of  numbers.  We 
had  not  been  pestered  with  lice,  and  if  it  could  be 
avoided  were  resolved  not  to  be  infested  by  them. 

Jack  touched  Antone  upon  an  arm  and  pointed  up 
through  the  open  gangway.     "  Savve  ?  "  he  askecl. 

The  big  fellow  understood,  and  we  filed  after  him 
to  the  deck.     Somebody  produced  a  pair  of  scissors 


no  On  Board  a  Whaler 

and  gave  them  to  Jack,  who  took  them  and  stepped 
in  front  of  the  big  fellow. 

"  Me  cut  hair,"  he  said  with  a  flourish  of  the 
instrument. 

It  is  a  singular  thing  that  most  of  us  use  that  kind 
of  English  whenever  we  have  occasion  to  address  a 
foreigner.  We  seem  to  think  our  language  will  be 
unintelligible  in  its  proper  form,  and,  after  embel- 
lishing it  with  such  adornments  as  we  think  suited 
to  the  comprehension  of  our  auditor,  we  deal  it  out 
in  such  odd  bits  as  Jack  now  proceeded  to  adminster 
to  poor,  stupid  Antone. 

"  No  savve,  eh  ?  " 

Antone  stepped  back  a  pace  to  get  away  from  the 
scissors. 

Come,  me  take  off — savve  ?  M 

All  four  of  the  newcomers  here  suddenly  started 
for  the  quarter-deck  but  were  headed  off  by  us  and 
rounded  up  in  front  of  the  try-works.  But  the 
bustle  and  noise  of  the  proceeding  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  steward,  who  came  hastily  forward 
to  look  after  the  interests  of  his  fellow-countrymen. 
The  moment  he  appeared  they  all  opened  upon  him 
at  once,  with  voices  and  pantomimic  action,  and 
kept  it  up  until  Jack  interrupted: 

M  Hang  it,  steward,  what  's  all  this  powwow 
about,  anyhow  ?  We  want  to  git  to  work  afore  it 
gits  too  dark." 


Jack  as  a  Tonsorial  Artist         1 1 1 

The  steward  had  been  taught  in  the  usual  school. 
"  They  no  savve  what  want — what  go'n'  do  ?"  he 
said. 

"  Wa-al,  if  the'  want  ter  know  mighty  bad,  tell 
'em  we  're  goin'  ter  peel  their  blasted  heads  for 
'em.  Tell  'em  that,  will  yeh  ?  We  're  goin'  ter 
peel  them  heads,"  Jack  informed  him. 

Now  the  steward  understood  the  word  "  peel  " 
in  the  sense  it  carries  when  we  speak  of  peeling  a 
potato,  and  interpreted  the  message  to  the  men  in 
that  light,  causing  four  faces  to  become  ghastly  and 
four  hands  to  seek  their  knives. 

M  Savve  ?  "  inquired  Jack,  still  of  the  steward. 
1  We  won't  stand  no  foolin',"  he  continued,  tap- 
ping his  own  knife  significantly.  "  Tell  'em  we 
don't  want  ter  have  ter  hurt  'em,  but  them  heads 
is  goin'  ter  be  peeled  afore  they  go  below  agin." 

"  Wha — wha'  for  peel  'em  ?  "  the  steward  asked 
tremblingly. 

"  Their  dummed  heads  is  chuck-full  o'  lice,  an' 
we  're  goin'  ter  cut  'em  out,"  was  the  assuring  reply. 
Lice — lice  ?     Me  no  savve  what  is  lice." 

"  Lice — lice !  You  darned  fool!  you  don't  know 
what  lice  is!  Why  lice  is  —  lice  is  —  why,  doggone 
y'r  punkin  head,  lice  is  lice.'" 

Here  Frank  came  to  the  rescue.  "  Bugs — bugs," 
he  explained.  "  No  savve  bugs  —  bugs?"  he  re- 
peated over  and  over,  finally  illustrating  his  meaning 


ii2  On  Board  a  Whaler 

by  scratching  first  his  own  and  then  the  steward's 
head. 

The  latter  act  brought  comprehension  to  the 
mind  of  the  cabin  cook.  He  grinned  his  apprecia- 
tion of  the  matter,  and  then  inquired : 

"  Wha'  for  you  peel  'em  ?  Why  no  you  cut 
hair?" 

"  Oh,  thunder!  "  roared  Jack  in  much  disgust. 
"  That  's  jest  what  I  said  we  was  goin'  to  do.  Me 
cut  hair,  see  ?  Me  cut  'em — peel  'em — take  'em 
off — rub  'm  cabase-se,  see  ? — savve  you  ? — savve 
now  ?" 

As  the  steward  disclosed  to  his  countrymen  our 
real  intentions,  their  faces  assumed  a  less  ashen 
color,  but  they  became  sullen.  Big  Antone  stared 
defiantly  in  the  face  of  Jack,  who  returned  the  gaze 
without  flinching. 

V  Come,  git  on  here!  Me  cuttee  you  hair," 
commanded  Jack  firmly,  pointing  to  a  convenient 
hawser-post. 

The  steward  talked  for  a  moment  to  the  men, 
after  which  for  several  minutes,  amidst  most  extra- 
ordinary gesticulations  and  grimaces,  all  of  the 
Portuguese  shouted  and  talked  at  once.  The 
steward  was  doing  his  best  to  pacify  the  other  men 
and  to  induce  them  to  submit  quietly  to  Jack's  de- 
mand ;  but  they  remained  stubbornly  perverse.  No 
eloquence  at  the  command   of  the  steward  could 


jack  as  a  Tonsorial  Artist         113 

bring  them  to  compliance  with  the  request.  Not 
one  would  budge  to  obey.  At  last,  his  patience 
evidently  exhausted,  the  steward  shrugged  his 
shoulders  and  started  for  the  cabin,  calling  back  to 
us  as  he  went : 

**  They  say  they  no  do  it." 

In  an  instant  both  of  Jack's  arms  encircled  big 
Antone,  and  that  worthy  was  flung  upon  the  de- 
signated seat.  Several  of  the  boys  sprang  to  Jack's 
assistance  and  held  the  fellow  in  place,  while  Frank 
and  myself  waved  back  the  other  Portuguese,  who 
seemed  disposed  to  interfere.  If  they  had  seriously 
thought  of  rescuing  their  companion,  they  quickly 
abandoned  it,  and  huddling  by  themselves  in  the 
waist  of  the  brig,  remained  savagely  glowering  at 
us  watching  the  proceedings  to  come. 

When  aroused  by  anger,  the  usually  placid  and 
happy-natured  Jack  could  be  demoniacal.  He  now 
seized  Antone's  hair  with  a  vicious  grasp,  and, 
thrusting  the  scissors  among  it,  twisted  and  gouged 
about  with  them  until  the  poor  fellow  screeched 
with  pain.  It  was  but  the  work  of  a  few  minutes, 
despite  the  desperate  struggles  of  our  victim  to 
escape,  to  complete  the  removal  of  the  hair,  so  far 
as  it  could  be  done  with  shears. 

"  Somebuddy  git  my  razor  for  me,"  directed 
Jack.     "  Yeh  '11  find  it  down  in  my  chist." 

At  sight  of  the  razor,   which   was  soon   found, 


ii4  On  Board  a  Whaler 

Antone  made  a  dash  for  liberty  that  sent  Jack 
sprawling,  and  dragged  two  of  the  boys  half-way 
across  the  deck ;  but  in  a  moment  the  poor  fellow 
was  thrown  back  on  the  seat,  bellowing  from  rage 
or  fright. 

Jack,  who  admired  pluck,  credited  to  the  Portu- 
guese the  knockdown,  and  interpreted  the  noise  as 
rage.  His  own  anger  was  rapidly  cooling.  The 
razor  was  too  dull  to  cut  the  hair  nicely.  "  Git  me 
some  soap  or  suthin',"  he  said  directly.  "  I  '11  cut 
'im  all  up  with  this  thing,  this  way." 

A  boy  brought  him  a  scrub  broom,  a  bucket  of 
sea  water,  and  a  bar  of  coarse  soap.  "  Guess 
that  's  good  'nough  fer  the  likes  o'  him,"  he 
remarked. 

The  scowl  had  passed  quite  away  from  Jack's 
face.  He  pushed  the  proferred  broom  aside. 
"  No,  no,  boys.  We  don't  want  ter  hurt  'im. 
That  won't  do  no  good.  Poor  devil,"  he  added, 
lathering  the  head  with  soap ; ' '  dunno  's  we  doughter 
blame  'im.  Yeh  better  b'lieve  we  'd  be  mad  an' 
want  ter  thump  somebuddy  if  we  'd  b'en  him. 
No;  the'  hain't  no  use  hurtin'  of  'im." 

After  that,  the  shaving  was  skilfully  completed 
without  unnecessary  suffering  for  Antone,  and  the 
big  fellow  was  soon  released  and  sent  back  to  his 
comrades  with  a  head  more  free  of  dirt  than  it  had 
been  since  the  day  he  was  born. 


x   X.                                     ^>Ss-w                 ^^^B^H 

11 

\\  \   MM 

&-         \  t     *     ' 

i       <^"'w     J^F"     j£K 

Nl^WB^f   J^T  j^* 

~&j>±                    i 

mm              /▼                        — _                                                                       ^H 

Ml      „  i^ 

m 

■^^^^ 

JHkV 

HK*                                                                   ;  ^^■ft 

V 

HE     SEIZED  ANTONE'S  HAIR  WITH  A  VICIOUS  GRASP." 


Jack  as  a  Tonsorial  Artist         1 1 5 

Then  the  others  came  forward  in  turn  and  sub- 
mitted to  be  barbered  without  a  murmur,  and  the 
work  was  done. 

The  remedy  employed  was  the  law  of  might,  but 
we  felt  justified  in  adopting  it.  It  was  violent  but 
effectual,  for  no  lice  afterwards  appeared  among  us. 


CHAPTER  XII 

BOATS  AND    EQUIPMENTS 

THE  next  day  after  initiating  our  Portuguese  in 
the  art  of  civilized  warfare  upon  vermin,  we 
sailed  out  past  the  island  of  St.  Michels  upon 
another  cruise  for  whales. 

To  correctly  understand  some  of  the  incidents 
soon  to  be  related,  some  acquaintance  with  the 
appliances  used  by  us  will  be  necessary. 

It  has  already  been  said  that  we  carried  three 
whale-boats.  Each  of  these  was  a  counterpart  of 
the  others,  built  of  cedar  upon  graceful  lines,  sharp 
at  both  ends,  and  about  thirty  feet  long  by  six 
wide.  There  were  five  broad  seats  across  the  boat, 
on  which,  beginning  at  the  bow  and  going  back  in 
their  order,  sat  the  boat-steerer,  the  bow  oarsman, 
the  midship  oarsman,  the  tub  oarsman,  and  the 
after  oarsman.  In  the  extreme  point  of  the  bow 
was  a  metal-lined  notch  (chock)  for  the  line  to  run 
through  when  fastened  to  a  whale.  Back  of  that, 
and  sunk  five  or  six  inches  below  the  gunwale,  was 

116 


Boats  and  Equipments  117 

a  triangular  deck  known  as  the  box,  and  large 
enough  to  hold  a  few  fathoms  of  coiled  rope.  At 
the  stern  was  another  deck,  even  with  the  gunwale 
and  reaching  forward  about  four  feet.  On  the  right 
hand  side  and  near  the  forward  edge  of  this  deck 
stood  a  round-headed  post  (the  loggerhead),  to 
which  the  line  could  be  secured  when  necessary  to 
hold  it.  Probably  six  feet  and  a  half  of  the  length 
of  the  boat  was  taken  up  by  the  two  decks,  leaving 
about  twenty-three  feet  of  space  for  the  men  and 
other  equipments.  Cleats  for  bracing  the  feet  of 
the  men  were  scattered  in  convenient  places  along 
the  bottom  of  the  boat ;  and  on  each  side,  opposite 
to  each  rowlock,  other  cleats  were  fastened  to  hold 
the  oars  when  at  rest.  Between  the  box  in  the  bow 
and  the  forward  thwart  there  was  room  enough  for 
a  man  to  stand  in  comfortably  to  throw  his  harpoon 
or  lance ;  and  at  the  stern  was  plenty  of  standing- 
room  for  the  officer  who  steered  the  boat  and  for 
coiling  the  whale  line  after  it  should  be  drawn  in. 

Each  boat,  besides  a  small  spritsail,  carried  six 
oars  and  five  paddles.  The  oars  were  all  as  long 
and  as  heavy  as  could  be  used  in  the  boat.  Five 
of  them  were  for  use  in  propelling  the  boat;  the 
sixth,  which  was  much  longer  and  heavier  than 
any  of  the  others,  was  the  steering  oar.  The  pad- 
dles were  designed  for  use  in  stealthy  approaches 
upon  game,  and  were  light  and  well  formed  for  the 


n8  On  Board  a  Whaler 

purpose.  The  sail  was  raised  to  help  us  back  to 
the  brig  after  a  chase — very  rarely  while  chasing 
whales,  and  never  when  about  to  go  on  to  one. 

In  suitable  slings  at  the  bow  were  five  harpoons 
on  the  left  and  three  lances  on  the  right  hand  side. 
In  addition  to  these  weapons  there  were  also  slung 
in  convenient  places  at  the  bow  a  hatchet,  a  spade, 
a  knife,  a  boat-hook,  and  a  crutch  upon  which  to 
rest  the  harpoons  on  lowering  for  game.  At  the 
stern  was  a  boat-compass,  a  bag  of  hardtack,  a 
water-tub,  a  bailing-bucket,  and  no  doubt  some 
other  things  my  memory  fails  to  recall.  Handy  to 
the  bow  oarsman  were  the  nippers,  made  by  sewing 
together  several  layers  of  coarse  canvas,  for  use  in 
laying  hold  of  and  checking  the  whale  line  when 
running  too  swiftly  to  be  grasped  by  the  naked 
hand.  There  were  also  several  short  warps  and 
lines  about  the  boat,  besides  the  rowlocks  and  other 
things. 

A  whale  gun  and  four  explosive  shells  were  added 
to  the  outfit  whenever  we  lowered  for  whales. 

It  remains  only  to  describe  more  particularly  the 
whale  line  and  the  offensive  weapons  already  men- 
tioned, and  we  will  have  done  with  this  rather  dry 
subject. 

At  the  time  of  our  encounter  with  the  blackfish, 
the  whale  line  in  the  captain's  boat  had  been  short- 
ened somewhat  by  cutting,  and  had  afterwards  been 


Boats  and  Equipments  119 

rather  badly  chafed  in  the  struggle  with  the  killer, 
so  that  on  the  day  we  left  Horta  it  was  thought 
best  to  put  a  new  one  in  its  place.  I  was  sum- 
moned to  assist  Jim  in  this  work,  and  am  the  better 
able  to  describe  the  method  and  manner  of  dispos- 
ing of  the  line  for  that  reason. 

A  bale  of  the  best  quality  of  perhaps  three-quarter- 
inch  hemp  line,  still  wrapped  as  it  came  from  the 
factory,  was  placed  at  our  disposal  on  the  quarter- 
deck. Rope  thus  tightly  wound  for  months  is  in 
no  condition  for  use  in  a  whale-boat.  As  it  followed 
the  first  whale,  a  kinky  line  would  be  apt  to  rid  the 
boat  of  its  crew  in  no  time.  So  our  first  step  was 
to  let  the  line  out  over  the  stern  where  we  kept  it 
dragging  in  the  water  behind  the  brig  until  the  last 
sign  of  a  kink  had  gone  out  of  it.  Then  we  hauled 
it  in  and  coiled  it  on  the  deck  to  dry,  after  which 
we  removed  the  old  line  from  the  boat  to  make 
place  for  the  new  one. 

The  boat  carried  two  tubs  for  the  reception  of 
the  whale  line,  one  immediately  in  front  of  the  tub 
oarsman's  seat  and  the  other  just  back  of  the  bow 
oarsman.  Leaving  several  feet  of  it  to  hang  over 
the  front  edge  of  the  tub  nearest  the  bow,  we  coiled 
the  line  into  that  tub  from  the  bottom  until  it  was 
level  full.  Then  the  rope  was  carried  back  to  the 
other  tub  and  coiled  as  neatly  as  possible  into  that 
in  like  manner  until  it  was  full.     Thence  the  line 


120  On  Board  a  Whaler 

was  continued  on  back  and  looped  around  the  log- 
gerhead, and  from  there  carried  forward  and  laid  in 
the  chock  at  the  bow,  where  it  was  secured  in 
place  by  passing  a  wooden  pin  over  it  across  the 
notch.  Then  it  was  brought  back  into  the  boat 
and  a  few  fathoms  of  it  coiled  upon  the  box,  after 
which  its  free  end  was  made  fast  to  one  of  the 
harpoons,  when  we  had  a  line  in  place  for  instant 
use. 

This  done,  the  line  was  taken  off  the  loggerhead 
and  thrown  loosely  out  of  the  way  upon  the  after 
tub,  and  we  spliced  the  first  end  of  it  to  a  water- 
tight buoy,  of  about  the  size  and  shape  of  a  butter 
firkin,  sitting  beside  the  forward  tub. 

When  it  was  all  done,  we  had  a  line  nearly  half  a 
mile  in  length,  secured  to  a  harpoon  at  one  end  and 
to  a  buoy  at  the  other,  in  condition  to  be  suddenly 
jerked  from  the  boat  at  any  probable  rate  of  speed 
without  danger  to  the  men. 

A  second  harpoon  was  then  bent  on  by  means  of 
a  short  warp,  and  we  were  ready  for  any  game  that 
might  come  along. 

The  harpoon  is  used  to  fasten  to  game.  Without 
having  first  made  the  boat  fast  to  him,  it  would  in 
most  instances  be  folly  to  inflict  a  wound  upon  a 
whale.  In  nearly  all  cases,  when  a  whale  is  struck 
or  frightened,  he  dives  for  cover,  not  infrequently 
going  so  deep  as  to  take  out  all  of  the  line.     There 


Boats  and  Equipments  121 

he  remains  until  it  becomes  necessary  for  him  to 
take  breath,  when  he  rises  to  the  surface  and  starts 
away  in  a  wild  struggle  for  his  freedom.  If  a  lance 
or  gun  were  to  be  used  in  the  first  instance,  the 
animal  would  usually  escape  without  suffering  from 
a  fatal  wound ;  and  in  most  cases,  even  where  the 
wound  was  fatal,  he  would  still  successfully  elude 


g^ggggggggr 


HARrOON    BEFORE    ENTERING    THE    BLUBBER. 


I 


HARPOON    AFTER    ENTERING    THE   BLUBBER. 


J  -3- 

LANCE. 

his  pursuers.  To  avoid  such  consequences,  the 
harpoon  has  come  into  use.  It  consists  of  a  head, 
a  shaft,  a  wooden  pole,  and  the  line  attached  to  it. 
The  completed  instrument  is  a  pole-like  weapon, 
about  eight  feet  in  length,  having  a  perfectly  sharp 
point,  six  inches  back  of  which  is  a  barb,  in  prin- 
ciple like  that  of  the  common  fish-hook.  When 
entering  the  blubber,  the  head  with  its  barb  lies 
lengthwise  on  the  shaft,  and  makes  a  hole  about  an 
inch    and   a  half  long   by   one    inch   wide.     Once 


122  On  Board  a  Whaler 

through,  as  the  whale  pulls  upon  the  line  the  barb 
catches  in  the  tissues  in  which  it  is  imbedded,  and 
a  small  wooden  peg  that  holds  the  barb  close  to  the 
shaft  is  broken.  Then,  presto!  the  head  arranges 
itself  at  right  angles  with  the  shaft,  and  refuses  to 
come  out  of  the  hole  it  entered.  The  law  of 
mechanics  that  two  solid  bodies  cannot  occupy  the 
same  space  at  one  time  favors  the  obstinate  little 
head,  and  since  the  blubber  and  skin  of  a  whale  are 
decidedly  tough,  a  harpoon  once  well  placed  is  apt 
to  hold  until  the  animal  dies.  The  shaft  was  made 
of  the  best  wrought  iron,  and  reached  perhaps  three 
feet  and  a  half  beyond  the  pole  to  which  it  was 
tied,  the  pole  being  of  sufficient  length  and  weight 
to  insure  accurate  aim  and  considerable  force. 

Two  of  these  instruments  were  always  attached 
to  the  line,  and,  if  possible,  both  were  thrust  into 
the  whale.  A  man  of  average  strength  and  skill 
could  do  effective  service  with  the  harpoon  at  a  dis- 
tance of  about  twenty  feet ;  but  in  common  practice 
the  boat  was  placed  close  up  to  the  animal,  and  the 
boat-steerer  jabbed  or  pushed  his  iron  home. 

The  lances  were  secured  by  short  lines  to  the 
boat,  and  differed  essentially  from  the  harpoons. 
The  heads  were  shorter  and  wider,  shaped  like  per- 
fect leaves,  and  possessed  of  cutting  edges.  The 
shafts,  being  intended  to  go  deeper,  were  longer 
than  those  of  the  "  irons,"  and  there  was  no  barb  to 


Boats  and  Equipments  123 

prevent  the  withdrawal  of  the  head.  They  were 
used  for  killing  the  game. 

Both  the  lances  and  the  harpoons  were  kept 
sharpened  to  the  keenest  edge,  and  their  heads 
constantly  smeared  with  oil  to  avoid  rust.  So, 
also,  of  the  spade,  the  hatchet,  and  the  knife  —  all 
were  sharpened  like  razors  and  well  oiled. 

The  whale  guns  with  which  we  were  provided 
were  too  heavy  for  easy  use  at  the  shoulder,  and 
were  heartily  hated  by  the  officers  because  of  a 
tendency  to  kick.  They  threw  an  explosive  shell, 
in  size  and  shape  much  like  the  head  of  an  ordinary 
sky-rocket,  ignited  by  a  protected  fuse  after  entering 
the  body  of  the  whale.  If  well  aimed  and  exploded, 
the  effect  of  these  bombs  was  most  disastrous  to  the 
victim ;  but  it  was  usually  difficult  to  aim  a  shell  at 
a  vital  part,  and  the  guns  were  not  always  brought 
into  action. 

Lastly,  more  important  than  all  else,  were  the 
men.  The  boat-steerer  rowed  with  the  rest  of  us 
until  near  enough  to  strike  the  whale,  when  he 
stood  up  and  threw  his  harpoon.  After  that,  he 
changed  ends  in  the  boat  with  the  officer  in  com- 
mand, who  had  until  then  been  steering  at  the  stern. 
The  officer  then  went  to  the  bow  to  wield  the  lance 
or  gun  in  killing  the  game,  and  the  boat-steerer  as- 
sumed the  duty  of  swinging  and  steering  the  boat. 
In  addition  to  pulling  his  oar,  the  bow  oarsman  was 


124  On  Board  a  Whaler 

expected  to  nip  the  line  as  it  passed  him,  when 
directed  by  the  officer  to  do  so.  It  was  the  duty  of 
the  tub  oarsman  and  of  the  midship  oarsman  to 
watch  and  attend  to  the  line  running  from  the  tubs 
near  them ;  while  the  after  oarsman  was  required 
to  dispose  of  the  line  as  it  was  hauled  into  the  boat 
after  being  pulled  out,  and  to  bail  water  from  the 
boat  when  necessary.  Thus,  every  man  in  the  boat 
had  his  known  place  and  work  to  do,  and  generally 
kept  and  did  it. 

All  of  these  things  —  boats,  equipments,  and 
duties — were  the  outcome  of  extended  experience, 
and  were  eminently  adapted  to  the  business. 

Having  finished  putting  in  the  new  line,  re- 
sharpened  and  oiled  the  weapons,  and  filled  the 
little  tub  with  fresher  water,  Jim  announced  the 
boat  fit  for  work.     Nor  had  we  long  to  wait. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

WE   SEE   SPERM   WHALES— NYE   IS   DEPOSED 

A  CLOUDLESS  sky,  with  still,  soft,  balmy  air, 
ushered  in  the  next  day,  and  at  sunrise  I  took 
my  turn  aloft  to  look  out  for  whales.  For  as  much 
as  an  hour  after  that  I  gazed  out  upon  the  vast 
mirror  spread  around  us,  coming  more  and  more  to 
realize  the  insignificance  of  man  in  the  scheme  of 
nature  and  that  a  shipload  of  us  at  that  moment 
constituted  but  part  of  a  mere  speck  of  dust  upon 
the  polished  ocean,  when  I  was  recalled  to  practical 
life  by  a  flash.  It  was  no  more  than  a  flicker  of 
light,  yet  it  differed  in  some  indefinable  manner 
from  the  rays  usually  reflected  from  the  water,  and 
aroused  me  to  alert  attention.  For  some  minutes  I 
searched  the  ocean  for  the  source  of  that  flash,  before 
a  shining  black  form  raised  slightly  above  the  water 
some  miles  from  the  brig,  and  a  puff  looking  like 
steam  rose  obliquely  from  it  a  few  feet  into  the  air. 
**  There  she  blo-o-o-ows!  "  I  screeched  with  all 
my  power. 

125 


126  On  Board  a  Whaler 

Then  other  such  forms  appeared,  followed  by 
similar  puffs,  and  the  common  cry  went  up  from  all 
parts  of  the  vessel. 

The  mate  announced  a  minute  later:  "It  's  a 
school  o'  bulls,  sir." 

As  excited  now  as  the  greenest  boy,  the  captain 
bawled, — 

"  Man  the  boats!  " 

I  waited  no  further  order,  but,  leaving  my  post 
on  the  jump,  in  less  than  thirty  seconds  was  at  my 
place  in  the  boat. 

"  All  ready,  sir,"  said  Jim. 

"  Lower  away." 

As  we  dropped  from  the  davits,  I  slipped  the 
loop  of  line  about  the  loggerhead,  and  when  the 
boat  touched  the  water,  my  oar  was  in  its  rowlock. 

"  Get  away,  boys!  " 

The  very  slight  delay  occasioned  by  my  being 
aloft  enabled  the  other  boats  to  get  a  few  seconds 
the  start  of  us,  and  the  mate  kept  the  lead  he  had 
thus  secured. 

As  we  left  the  brig,  the  whales  were  swimming 
leisurely  here  and  there,  scattered  about  over  some- 
thing like  a  square  mile  of  the  sea,  and  I  saw  no 
more  of  any  of  them  until  we  had  been  rowing  some 
twenty  minutes,  when  the  master  raised  his  hand 
significantly  in  command  for  silence,  and  whispered : 

"  Ship  y'r  oars  easy  an'  take  y'r  paddles." 


We  See  Sperm  Whales  127 

This  brought  us  face  to  face  with  the  whales,  and 
as  I  stood  up  and  took  my  paddle,  one  of  them  was 
rising  immediately  under  the  bow  of  the  mate's 
boat,  scarcely  two  boat's  lengths  away  from  us. 

"  Give  'er  to  'im!  "  the  mate  roared. 

Nye  jumped  to  his  feet  and  threw  first  one  iron 
and  then  the  other  at  the  beast.  Then  a  fluke, 
thirteen  feet  broad,  wrapped  in  bright  tinted  spray, 
was  flung  forty  feet  into  the  air,  where  it  waved  for  an 
instant,  and  rushed  straight  down  under  the  water. 

" ,  the  fool  missed!  "  de- 
clared the  captain. 

It  was  too  true.  The  line  in  the  mate's  boat  was 
hanging  limp  over  the  bow.  It  was  not  running 
out  after  the  whale.  The  first  iron  had  gone  over 
the  animal  without  touching  his  body,  and  the 
second  had  pricked  him  enough  to  sting. 

The  next  moment  a  dozen  other  enormous  flukes 
were  waving  in  mid-air  to  disappear  like  flashes. 

It  is  said  among  whalemen  that  a  pricked  whale 
carries  the  school.  Certain  it  is  that  every  whale  in 
this  scattered  group  seemed  at  once  aware  of  his 
danger  and  sounded  for  cover. 

The  language  of  the  captain  and  mate  used  during 
the  succeeding  minutes  cannot  be  set  forth  here. 
Both  officers  were  furious  in  their  rage,  and  outdid 
all  previous  efforts  in  vituperations  showered  at 
Nye,  ending  by  the  mate's  shouting: 


128  On  Board  a  Whaler 

"  Frank,  dump  the idiot  out 

o'  there,  an'  then  see  if  you  c'n  hit  a  whale  that  's 
bigger  'n  the  ol*  town  hall,  when  he  's  right  under 
y'r  nose!  " 

Pale  and  agitated,  Nye  changed  places  with 
Frank  in  the  boat,  making  no  attempt  to  defend 
himself. 

The  next  moment  some  one  cried:  "  There  the' 
be — there  blo-o-ows!  "  and  the  tirade  had  passed. 

A  dozen  monstrous  dark  brown  heads  broke  from 
the  water  a  mile  away  and  went  rushing  off. 

The  captain  bit  his  lip.  "  Pull,"  was  all  he 
said. 

As  though  he  would  leap  the  mile  separating  us 
from  the  whales,  every  man  bent  with  his  whole 
might  upon  his  oar. 

M  Easy,  boys!  We  've  got  a  long  pull  afore  us. 
Don't  rush  'til  I  tell  yeh.  Lay  well  down  on  y'r 
oars,  but  take  it  easy.  Long,  stiddy  strokes  is  what 
tells  on  a  long  pull,"  the  captain  cautioned  us.  He 
was  an  experienced  driver  who  well  knew  how  to 
get  the  most  from  his  crew. 

On  and  on  we  rowed  after  that,  the  captain  now 
chiding  some  boy  for  shirking;  now,  as  becoming 
restive  we  strained  too  hard  at  the  work,  saying  to 
us  soothingly:  "  Easy — easy,  lads.  We  're  doin' 
fust-rate,  an'  gainin'  on  'em.  Take  it  long  an' 
stiddy  as  yeh  've  be'n  doin'.     Don't  jerk  on  y'r 


Nye  is  Deposed  129 

oars,  it  '11  make  yeh  sore.  Take  it  cool  an'  we  '11 
git  'em  yit." 

In  this  way  we  pulled  on  until  noon,  when  we 
had  recovered  about  half  the  distance  between  us 
and  the  whales.  Then,  one  at  a  time,  we  were 
allowed  to  rest  our  oars  and  refresh  ourselves  from 
the  biscuit-bag  and  water-tub,  leaving  four  men 
still  at  work,  and  our  speed  scarcely  diminished. 

By  this  time  my  arms  and  back  were  paining  me 
almost  beyond  endurance,  and  it  was  a  great  relief 
to  be  able  to  feather  my  oar  at  rest  when  my  turn 
came,  and  face  around  to  look  at  the  fleeing  brutes 
in  advance  of  us. 

Up  to  this  moment  we  could  judge  of  the  where- 
abouts of  the  animals  by  watching  the  face  of  the 
captain.  Now,  as  I  sat  munching  the  hardtack, 
they  were  plainly  in  sight,  something  like  half  a 
mile  ahead  of  us,  grouped  well  together  and  swim- 
ming at  the  rate  of  about  eight  miles  an  hour, 
circling  slowly  toward  the  left.  The  gait  of  the 
whales  was  not,  therefore,  rapid,  but,  in  our  jaded 
condition,  it  was  tasking  our  ability  to  overtake 
them. 

As  they  tumbled  on  before  us,  these  whales  were 

awkward  and  unwieldy  enough.     A  huge  rounded 

head  would  show  at  the  surface  of  the  swell,  quickly 

raise  into  the  air  ten,  twelve,  fifteen,  often  twenty 

feet,  followed  by  an  enormous  round  body,  black 
9 


i3°  On  Board  a  Whaler 

and  glistening  in  the  sunlight,  and  there  for  a  few 
seconds  both  head  and  body  would  remain  rushing 
along,  sending  out  on  either  side  great  rolls  of 
water  and  foam  just  as  a  ship  does  in  her  flight; 
and  then  the  whole  mass  would  plunge  ahead  and 
sink  from  view  under  the  water.  A  moment  later 
the  same  head  would  again  appear,  and  the  peculiar 
lunging  leap  would  be  made  precisely  as  it  had  been 
made  before.  There  were  a  dozen  or  more  of  the 
monsters  so  engaged,  four  or  five  of  them  being 
kept  constantly  on  exhibition,  a  spectacle  to  be 
beheld  nowhere  else  on  the  globe — the  giants  of  the 
ocean  fleeing  in  abject  terror  from  man. 

Slightly  refreshed  by  the  warm  water  and  tough 
bread,  yet  considerably  rested,  in  a  few  minutes  I 
resumed  my  oar,  and  for  a  long  time  after  that  saw 
nothing  more  of  the  whales.  Then,  while  the 
gloom  of  approaching  darkness  was  settling  around 
us,  we  could  hear  the  crashing  breaths  and  the 
swashing  of  the  water  as  the  great  animals  plunged 
along  behind  us.  The  captain's  eyes  were  now 
gleaming  with  hope,  and  his  body  swayed  in  con- 
cert with  ours,  while  he  began  urging  us  to  our  work 
for  the  first  time  that  day : 

'*  Pull,  now!  Lay  down  there!  Git  after  'em, 
boys! " 

Then  came  the  order  we  were  most  anxious  to 
hear: 


Nye  is  Deposed  131 

"  Stand  up,  Jim!  " 

But  still  we  were  not  done,  and  the  captain  was 
bellowing  at  us: 

"  Can't  yeh  send  'er  a  little  harder.?  Ten  foot 
more,  an'  we  '11  be  up  to  'em.  For  y'r  mothers' 
sakes,  pull.      Pull  —  pull — pull,    I    tell   yeh.     Git 

down  there — ev'ry of  yeh,  git  down 

to  it.  Lay  y'rselves  out  now  —  lay  down  on  'em. 
A  long  pull  an'  a  strong  pull — all  together,  now. 

Oh !  oh  !  OH !  why  in don't  yeh  git 

down  !  " 

So  he  continued,  pleading,  commanding,  pray- 
ing, sobbing,  his  face  afire,  his  body  convulsed,  his 
voice  tremulous  with  excitement,  while  we  tugged 
and  strained  with  every  muscle  and  nerve  in  our 
aching  bodies,  on  and  on  and  on,  in  the  futile 
struggle  to  gain  the  beggarly  feet  separating  us 
from  the  brutes  and  rest. 

'•  My  Lord!     Wa-al,  boys,  it  's  up!  " 

The  captain  collapsed  upon  the  little  deck  behind 
him,  and  sat  mopping  his  perspiring  brow.  We 
turned  in  our  seats  in  time  to  catch  a  glimpse  of 
the  departing  fluke. 

We  had  suffered  defeat.  The  whales  had  re- 
covered their  senses,  and,  no  longer  "  gallied," 
taken  the  most  obvious  means  to  evade  pursuit. 
They  had  gone  into  the  darkness  of  the  ocean  where 
we  could  not  follow,  and  our  chase  had  ended. 


132  On  Board  a  Whaler 

The  stars  were  glittering  cheerfully  above  us,  and 
the  air  was  cool  and  refreshing  as  we  lay  back  to 
rest  our  tired  muscles.  For  minutes  no  word  was 
spoken,  and  no  sound  disturbed  the  quiet  save  the 
gentle  ripple  and  klinking  of  water  along  the  sides 
of  the  boat.  The  other  boats  were  too  far  away  to 
be  made  out  through  the  gloom,  but  a  bonfire  had 
been  lit  upon  the  brig  and  was  casting  a  reddish 
glow  upon  the  distant  horizon  to  assure  us  that  we 
were  not  altogether  alone,  and  aid  us  on  our  return. 

A  breeze  had  sprung  up  and  was  blowing  toward 
the  brig,  so  we  set  our  little  sail  and  headed  for  the 
light,  after  which,  while  we  were  wafted  slowly 
along,  the  hardtack  again  went  the  rounds  among 
us  and  was  rinsed  down  our  parched  throats  by  the 
warm,  ill-smelling  water  from  the  tub. 

It  was  after  midnight  before  we  could  distinguish 
the  green  light  of  the  brig  and  nearly  dawn  when 
we  reached  her  side  and  hoisted  our  boats  to  the 
davits.  Then  we  dragged  ourselves  wearily  out 
upon  the  decks  and  were  soon  sound  asleep. 

It  was  a  long  way  up  to  the  cross-trees  the  next 
morning,  and  when  I  reached  them  to  take  my  turn 
on  the  lookout,  I  seated  myself  upon  them  with  no 
fear  of  falling  off,  and,  snugly  wedged  between  the 
shrouds  and  the  mast,  went  fast  asleep,  not  to  wake 
until  twice  called  by  the  boy  sent  to  my  relief  two 
hours  later. 


Nye  is  Deposed  133 

I  was  very  much  startled  at  finding  myself  thus 
caught,  but  was  less  uneasy  upon  looking  over  at 
the  other  mast  to  see  Jim  staring  stupidly  down  at 
the  second  mate  and  saying: 

'*  'Sleep — 'sleep,  d'  yeh  say  ?     Wa-al,  now,  yeh 

c'n  bet  y'r  boots  I  was.     I  'd  a  slep'  through 

fire.  Sleep  —  yes,  an'  I  don't  care  who  knows  it, 
nuther." 

As  I  reached  the  foretop  in  my  descent  I  saw  the 
mate  come  from  the  cabin,  yawning  and  stretching 
his  arms,  and  go  upon  the  quarter-deck.  A  confer- 
ence followed  between  the  mate  and  captain,  and 
then  Nye  was  summoned  to  them.  He  came  up 
out  of  the  cabin,  haggard  and  wretched. 

"  Take  your  duds  into  the  foc'sle  an'  bring 
Frank's  aft,"  the  mate  said  to  him,  abruptly. 

"  Aye,  aye,  sir."     Nye  saluted  and  obeyed. 

Thus  summarily  was  he  deposed  and  Frank  in- 
stalled as  a  petty  officer. 

Nye  was  not  a  coward.  It  was  his  first  voyage  as 
boat-steerer,  and  his  first  attempt  to  strike  a  sperm 
whale.  He  had  been  simply  over-anxious,  and  lost 
his  presence  of  mind  in  one  of  those  singular  parox- 
ysms which  at  times  unnerve  the  strongest  men. 
Yet  there  was  much  to  warrant  the  judgment  of  his 
superiors.  The  whale  he  had  missed  was  worth 
several  thousand  dollars,  a  large  share  of  which 
would  have  fallen  to  the  captain   and  mate.      He 


134  On  Board  a  Whaler 

had  been  placed  so  near  to  the  animal  that  he 
might  easily  have  pushed  his  harpoon  through  its 
blubber  without  letting  the  weapon  out  of  his 
hands.  There  seemed  to  be  no  explanation  of  his 
conduct  other  than  upon  the  theory  that  he  was 
lacking  in  pluck.  It  is  doubtful  if,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, any  jury  would  have  acquitted  him  of 
a  charge  of  cowardice ;  and  on  the  trial  of  such  a 
case  those  who  now  judged  him  would  have  been 
the  prosecuting  witnesses.  The  mate,  too,  was 
eager  to  promote  Frank,  a  thing  not  possible  while 
Nye  retained  his  position. 

Just  or  unjust,  no  other  punishment  could  have 
been  expected,  and  the  majority  of  the  crew,  re- 
membering their  own  sufferings  in  consequence  of 
Nye's  act,  were  satisfied. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

GAMMING   AND    RACING 

AFTER  that,  some  weeks  passed  during  which  I 
stood  at  the  masthead,  at  the  wheel,  on  the 
night  lookout,  scrubbed  paintwork,  washed  decks, 
mended  clothes,  studied  navigation,  played  check- 
ers, decorated  my  bunk  with  drawings  of  whales, 
horses,  sharks,  roosters,  cattle — did  anything  and 
everything  that  duty  or  ingenuity  could  suggest  to 
take  up  the  time,  until  the  incident  about  to  be 
related  came  to  give  a  little  more  color  to  our  lives. 

It  was  a  typical  day  in  the  tropics.  The  sun 
poured  its  fierce  heat  upon  the  decks  and  into  every 
hole  and  cranny  about  the  brig,  while  the  atmos- 
phere stirred  only  enough  to  enable  the  vessel  to 
keep  her  course. 

I  was  standing  at  the  wheel,  scarcely  conscious  of 
the  roasting  to  which  we  were  subjected,  when  the 
cry  rang  out  from  aloft : 

4  'Sa-a-a-a-ail  ho-o-o!  " 

For  the  reason  that  whales  are  less  likely  to  be 
135 


136  On  Board  a  Whaler 

found  in  the  tracks  of  commerce  than  elsewhere, 
whalers  purposely  avoid  the  common  ocean  routes. 
In  consequence,  it  was  a  rare  occurrence  for  us  to 
meet  another  vessel  while  on  our  cruises.  Up  to 
this  time  we  had  seen  perhaps  half  a  dozen  mer- 
chantmen, but  had  passed  them  all  without  hailing, 
while  we  had  not  seen  any  other  whaling  ship. 

We  were  becoming  tired  of  seeing  the  same  faces 
day  after  day,  and  were  longing  to  see  some  others 
of  our  kind,  so  now  our  rigging  was  suddenly  alive 
with  the  crew  trying  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the 
stranger. 

At  the  first  sound  the  captain  asked  sharply, 

M  Where  away  ?  " 

"  'Bout  two  p'ints  off  the  port  bow,  suh." 

M  Let  'er  up  two  p'ints,  Tom,"  the  captain 
directed,  and  as  the  bow  answered  to  the  wheel  a 
rousing  cheer  went  up  from  twenty  throats.  We 
knew  we  were  to  try  to  speak  with  the  stranger — to 
converse  with  other  men. 

At  the  end  of  an  hour  the  coming  vessel  was 
visible  from  the  deck,  a  mere  spot  upon  the  hori- 
zon, and,  aided  by  glasses,  the  officers  declared 
her  to  be  a  whaler  and  headed  toward  us,  upon 
which  another  roar  of  delight  went  up  all  over  the 
brig. 

In  the  light  wind  the  combined  speed  of  the  ves- 
sels did  not  amount  to  much,  and  it  was  the  middle 


Gamming  and  Racing  137 

of  the  afternoon  before  we  finally  hove  to  within 
speaking  distance  of  each  other. 

'■  A-ho-o-oy  there!  —  what  brig  's  that  ?  "  came 
floating  upon  the  still  air  to  us. 

V  The  brig  Grace,  Provincetown — Smith.  What 
Bark's  that  ?  " 

"  Maryy  Wood's  Holl — Winslow.  Come  aboard, 
won't  yeh  ?  " 

"  All  right,"  shouted  our  master. 

In  a  few  minutes,  having  passed  a  boat  on  the 
way  from  the  bark  taking  her  mate  to  our  vessel, 
we  rowed  up  alongside  the  newcomer,  a  clumsy 
old-timer  with  sides  standing  away  up  out  of  the 
water,  and  having  a  bow  almost  as  blunt  as  her 
stern. 

M  A  reg'lar  ol'  barnacle  tub,"  Jim  pronounced 
her. 

A  row  of  woolly  heads,  shining  faces,  and  white 
teeth  arranged  themselves  along  the  railing  above, 
and  then  a  rope  ladder  was  dropped  down  to  us. 
The  captain  having  mounted  to  the  deck,  we  made 
the  boat  fast  and  clambered  up  the  side  after  him. 

As  my  head  reached  the  railing,  a  big  darky  ac- 
costed me  with : 

"  Say,  boss,  got  any  tobac'  ?  We  hain't  had 
none  sense  we  lef  Ann'bon  much  's  fo'  monfs 
ago." 

"  I  don't  use  the  stuff,"  was  my  too  curt  reply. 


i38  On  Board  a  Whaler 

That  answer  fixed  my  social  standing  on  the  bark 
at  a  very  low  notch.  The  crew  had  no  further  re- 
gard for  me.  A  man  who  did  not  use  tobacco,  as 
one  of  them  soon  after  insisted  in  my  hearing,  was 
"  wus  'n  a  no  'count  nigger."  The  other  boys  in 
our  boat  were  all  provided  with  the  necessary  cre- 
dential and  were  warmly  welcomed,  but  I  got  the 
cold  shoulder  at  every  turn  while  we  stayed  on  the 
bark. 

This  craving  for  tobacco  prevailed  almost  univer- 
sally among  the  sailors  we  met.  The  first  words 
spoken  on  gamming  any  ship  during  the  voyage  was 
a  request  for  the  weed,  and  after  that  first  experi- 
ence I  took  pains  to  secure  a  plug  from  the  cabin 
stores  before  leaving  the  brig  to  visit  the  other 
vessel. 

The  greetings  between  the  two  captains  were 
most  cordial.  I  think  they  had  never  met  before, 
but  they  acted  like  brothers;  while  Jim  was  met  by 
the  boat-steerers  on  the  bark  with  every  show  of 
esteem.  Then,  after  the  hand-shakings  had  been 
gone  through  with,  the  officers  went  together  into 
the  cabin,  and  we  followed  the  foremast  hands 
down  into  their  quarters. 

In  addition  to  the  usual  smell  of  bilge-water  and 
mustiness  common  to  such  places,  this  forecastle 
was  unbearably  hot  and  tainted  with  the  peculiar 
odor   of   unwashed   negroes,    circumstances   which 


Gamming  and  Racing  139 

would  have  soon  driven  me  on  deck,  even  though 
the  dislike  of  the  crew  for  me  had  been  concealed. 

Except  the  officers,  all  of  whom  were  white,  every 
member  of  this  crew  was  coal  black.  I  think  there 
was  not  a  man  in  the  forecastle  of  any  lighter  shade 
than  jet.  It  was  the  darkest  set  of  men  I  have  ever 
seen  together,  and  the  worst  smelling.  The  man 
who  shipped  them  must  have  been  possessed  by  a 
passion  for  the  color,  and  have  accepted  no  one  not 
up  to  his  standard  hue.  The  men  were  all  heavy, 
well-built,  muscular  fellows,  of  uncertain  ages,  the 
smallest  of  them  being  fully  as  large  as  our  big 
Antone.  ■'  Them  's  buck  niggers,  them  is,"  our 
boys  whispered  among  themselves.  And  on  look- 
ing them  over  I  could  not  help  thinking  that,  in  a 
race  for  whales,  we  would  stand  small  show  of  win- 
ning against  such  a  crew ;  but  my  judgment  had  not 
then  been  matured  in  the  light  of  the  experience 
which  was  to  come. 

I  remained  below  scarcely  a  minute  and  returned 
to  the  deck,  where  it  seemed  very  dull,  until  Jim 
and  three  boat-steerers  came  out  of  the  cabin. 
There  was  nothing  on  the  deck  of  this  old  hulk 
amusing  or  handsome  to  look  at,  and  I  was  much 
relieved  when  Jim  beckoned  me  to  come  aft,  and 
introduced  me  to  his  companions  as  "  jest  's  good 
's  a  boat-steerer  a'ready."  This  recommendation 
was   accepted    as   rank   enough   to   entitle    me   to 


140  On  Board  a  Whaler 

admission  in  their  set,  and  we  swapped  yarns  and 
became  pretty  jolly  before  the  captain  appeared  on 
deck  ready  to  go. 

"  Man  the  boat,"  Jim  shouted  at  a  signal  from 
the  master,  and  I  repeated  the  order  at  the  fore- 
castle gangway,  above  the  uproar  of  an  ascending 
song  from  below. 

V  Good-bye.     Hope  yeh  '11  fill  up." 

•  •  Same  to  you.  Mighty  glad  we  met  yeh.  So 
long." 

The  captains  grasped  hands  warmly,  and  then  our 
master  dropped  over  the  side  into  the  boat,  followed 
by  us. 

V  All  away,"  he  commanded,  and  we  had  finished 
our  gamming. 

Our  boat  had  been  slung  in  place  on  its  davit  but 
a  moment,  when  there  rang  out  in  concert  from  the 
mastheads  of  both  vessels : 

"  Thar  she  blo-o-o-ows!  " 

What  a  power  was  always  in  those  words  for  us! 
They  pervaded  the  entire  ship  and  brought  forth 
all  the  latent  energy  of  the  crew.  At  this  particular 
time,  not  only  was  this  true,  but  the  cry  involved  a 
struggle  for  supremacy  in  a  race  with  men  of  differ- 
ent blood. 

We  may  have  doubted  our  ability  to  win,  but 
there  was  no  hesitation  in  the  start.  In  launching 
the  boats  both  crews  moved  with  admirable  pre- 


Gamming  and  Racing  141 

cision  and  alacrity.  Not  an  error  was  committed, 
and  neither  crew  obtained  any  advantage. 

There  were  four  boats  from  the  bark  against  our 
three  from  the  brig.  The  boat  I  was  in  started 
even  with  that  of  the  mate  of  the  bark,  but  within 
a  minute  the  bark's  boat  commenced  falling  behind 
us,  and  presently  we  heard  its  officer  say  to  his 
men : 

"  Yeh  '11  have  to  do  some  dustin',  boys.  Them 
fellers  move  lively." 

Then,  a  little  later,  as  the  distance  between  the 
boats  increased,  we  heard  him  shout : 

"  Pull-11-1,  yeh  black  louts!  What  'n  thunder 
are  y'r  doin'  ?  Are  yeh  goin'  ter  let  them  little 
devils  beat  yeh  ?  Bend  y'r  backs!  Git  down,  o'  we 
won't  be  in  a  mild  of  'em." 

In  exact  time,  taking  long,  steady  strokes  and 
feathering  our  oars  as  we  lifted  them,  with  every 
muscle  and  nerve  in  full  play,  we  rowed  on,  widen- 
ing the  gap  between  us  and  the  boat  astern.  The 
officer  there  was  now  waving  a  paddle  over  the 
heads  of  his  crew  and  shrieking  like  a  mad-man: 

"  Pull-11-11-1,    yeh   black   imps  o'  hell!     Pull-11-1, 

yeh  nigger  devils!     Pull-11-11-1,  yeh , 

or  I  '11  bat  y'r  pates  with  this!  Git  down  on  y'r 
oars,  yeh black  coons " 

The  voice  was  lost  to  us  while  the  paddle  still 
waved  in  mid-air,  from  whence  it  more  than  once 


142  On  Board  a  Whaler 

descended  upon  some  luckless  one  of  that  crew. 
Then  we  arrived  among  the  blackfishes,  and  our 
attention  was  distracted  from  the  other  boat. 

Perhaps  the  race  might  have  ended  as  it  did,  even 
though  our  officers  had  commanded  the  darkies,  but 
it  may  well  be  doubted.  I  am  sure  their  way  of 
urging  us  was  better  calculated  to  bring  out  the 
best  there  was  in  us  in  the  way  of  effort  than  any 
form  of  abuse  would  have  been.  At  times,  when 
close  upon  a  whale,  his  face  aglow  and  his  brain 
afire  with  eagerness,  the  captain  would  urge  us  on 
with  language  that  cannot  be  printed  here,  but  we 
never  took  offence  at  that.  We  knew  the  man  to 
be  just  and  kind  at  bottom,  and  everybody  swore 
some  on  shipboard.  I  doubt  if  it  would  have 
been  safe  for  any  man  to  wave  a  paddle  over  our 
heads,  much  less  to  have  struck  one  of  us,  as  we 
saw  done  by  the  officer  in  the  other  boat.  We 
were  Yankees,  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  our  fathers, 
quite  as  quick  to  resent  an  insult  as  to  obey  a  lawful 
command.  At  any  rate,  no  one  ventured  to  im- 
pose upon  us  in  that  manner. 

Our  driver  stood  mum  and  smiling  in  the  stern  of 
his  boat,  trusting  wholly  to  our  native  ambition  for 
success.  His  judgment  was  affirmed,  for  when  the 
boats  of  the  bark  came  within  hailing  distance  of 
ours,  each  of  our  boats  was  fast  to  a  fish,  and  the 
school  had  gone  from  sight.     The  blackfishes  were 


PULL-LL-L,  YEH  BLACK  LOUTS.     WHAT  'N  THUNDER  ARE  Y'R  DOIN'?» 


Gamming  and  Racing  143 

quickly  dispatched,  and  then  our  captain  called  to 
the  other,  a  smile  still  playing  about  his  features : 

"  I  guess  you  'd  better  take  that  one  over  there. 
He  's  the  biggest.  We  '11  take  along  the  little 
fellers.  Hope  yeh  '11  be  in  better  luck  next  time. 
Good-by  to  yeh." 

'*  Wa-al,  all  right.  Wisht  I  'd  had  your  crew, 
that  's  all.     So  long." 

Thus  we  parted,  our  crew  happy. 


CHAPTER  XV 

EATING  AND   DRINKING— TENERIFFE— A   SEA 
TURTLE 

STAR-AR-AR-B'RD  watch  aho-o-o-oy!" 
I  opened  my  eyes  upon  a  picture-stained 
bunk  ceiling,  yawned,  stretched  myself,  and  rolled 
lazily  out  upon  the  trunk  below. 

"  Gosh,  but  it 's  hot!  "  This  was  said  not  to  in- 
form any  one  of  a  fact  not  known  by  him,  but  as  a 
vent  for  my  exasperated  feelings. 

11  Kid  here,"  announced  Kenney  at  the  head  of 
the  stairs. 

Big  Antone  went  up  the  steps  to  receive  the  little 
tub;  and  having  brought  it  down,  placed  it  on  one 
end  of  my  trunk.  One,  two,  three,  four — fourteen 
unpeeled  potatoes  I  counted  out — two  into  each  of 
the  seven  pans  sitting  before  me,  a  large  and  a 
small  root,  for  the  division  must  be  even.  The  salt 
junk  was  without  form,  but  neatly  as  possible  I 
divided  it  into  seven  equal  parts,  one  for  each  man. 
There  was  always  plenty  of  hardtack — everybody 

144 


Eating  and  Drinking  145 

could  help  himself  to  that.  It  was  noon  and  too 
hot  for  coffee.  The  butter  did  not  come  that  day, 
and  there  were  no  extras. 

"  There  you  are,  boys." 

Each  of  us  took  his  pan  and  dispatched  the  con- 
tents. 

This  custom  had  arisen  after  we  left  Fayal.  Be- 
fore that  our  crew  had  been  a  fair-minded  body,  too 
liberal  and  well  brought  up  to  fight  over  its  meals. 
In  less  than  a  week  after  the  introduction  among 
us  of  the  Portuguese  there  had  been  a  rough-and- 
tumble  battle  in  which  Antone  had  suffered  most. 
He  made  complaint  to  the  captain,  who  listened  to 
our  several  stories  and  decided  that  Antone  had 
been  properly  served,  but  suggested  that  we  select 
some  one  from  each  watch  to  divide  the  messes  in 
future.  In  our  watch  the  choice  for  this  duty  had 
fallen  upon  me. 

The  trouble  had  arisen  from  a  disposition  on  the 
part  of  Antone  to  help  himself  to  the  largest  pota- 
toes and  to  cut  for  his  own  use  disproportionate 
and  choice  slices  of  meat,  leaving  one  or  more 
among  us  short  of  a  just  share.  If  long  persisted 
in,  this  conduct  could  lead  to  but  one  result,  and 
after  the  summary  adjustment  of  our  differences 
which  followed  it  was  some  months  before  Antone 
needed  to  be  punished  for  a  like  offence.  Then, 
not  satisfied  with  the  division  made  by  me,  the  big 


H6  On  Board  a  Whaler 

fellow  put  his  hand  into  the  kid  to  select  his  own 
share,  when  Nye  struck  him  a  blow  that  sent  him 
sprawling  on  the  floor,  from  which  he  gathered  him- 
self together  and  skulked  off  without  waiting  for 
more.  In  that  manner  peace  was  finally  maintained 
among  us. 

The  meal  finished,  we  went  on  deck  to  the  relief 
of  the  other  half  of  the  crew. 

It  was  my  turn  aloft,  but  before  going  up  I 
stopped  for  a  drink  of  water.  The  drinking  water 
was  kept  in  casks  stowed  in  the  hold,  and  was 
reached  through  the  fore  hatchway.  These  casks 
were  piled  in  tiers,  one  above  the  other,  with  their 
bungs  opening  upwards.  A  long,  tin,  tube-like 
cup,  to  the  open  end  of  which  was  attached  a  string 
tripod,  was  employed  to  draw  the  water  from  the 
casks.  Each  time  we  drank  we  lowered  this  cup 
through  a  bung-hole  into  the  water,  and  pulled  it 
out  full.  There  was  only  this  one  cup  for  the  use 
of  all  the  foremast  hands.  After  being  used,  it  was 
dropped  most  anywhere  among  the  casks  for  the 
next  man  to  find  as  best  he  could. 

On  this  occasion  it  was  a  long  time  before  I  could 
find  the  cup,  and  then  I  found  it  covered  with  dirt 
and  a  gummy  grease  or  slime.  I  rubbed  it  off  with 
a  wad  of  oakum,  carried  in  my  pocket  for  the  pur- 
pose and  lowered  it  through  a  bung-hole.  When  it 
was  drawn  out  again  a  roll  of  gelatinous  slime  was 


Eating  and  Drinking  147 

clinging  to  its  sides  and  dripping  from  its  bottom, 
which  was  in  its  turn  wiped  away ;  and  then,  filling 
my  lungs  with  air,  I  hastily  gulped  down  the  water 
and  leaped  to  the  deck  before  breathing. 

M  Ugh-wah  !  Ugh-ughfugh  !  What  stuff  to 
drink!" 

Mr.  Bowman  was  passing  there  just  then. 

"  Warm  ? "  he  asked. 

"  Vile,  sir.     Bilge-water  would  be  better." 

"  'T  is  putty  bad,  I  guess,  for  a  fact;  but  we  '11 
git  suthin'  better  'n  that  afore  long,  now." 

"  Hope  so,  sir.     That  's  ropey  and  full  of  slime." 

M  Ye-ah,  't  is  gittin'  a  bit  slickery,  I  guess. 
'T  ain't  nuthin'  to  what  it  can  git,  though.  I  've 
seen  it  so  darned  thick  yeh  could  cut  it  with  y'r 
knife." 

"  Froze,  I  s'pose  ? " 

"  No,  jellied." 

I  laughed  aloud  and  went  up  to  relieve  Jack. 
•  "  I  guess  we   're  going  to  get  another  peep  of 
shore,"  I  said  to  him  as  he  joined  me  at  the  top. 

"  Ye-up,  I  know  it.  Heard  the  ol'  man  talkin' 
with  Bowman  this  mornin'.  And  yeh  want  ter 
keep  y'r  eyes  out  termorrer,  too.  Mebbe  yeh  '11  see 
suthin'  yeh  '11  want  ter  look  at  a  spell." 

"  Whales?" 

"Whales  —  pooh!  Whales,  d'  yeh  say? — huh! 
Yeh  '11  see  Tenerijfe" 


148  On  Board  a  Whaler 

To  me,  Teneriffe  was  a  small  picture  in  an  old 
geography.  The  figures  used  there  in  connection 
with  its  description  had  flown  from  my  memory, 
and  a  mountain  no  more  than  two  or  three  inches 
high  was  not  a  subject  to  create  enthusiasm  after 
laying  a  week  under  the  shadow  of  Pico. 

"  Is  that  all  ?  "  I  asked  contemptuously. 

Jack  looked  at  me  as  one  having  superior  knowl- 
edge is  apt  to  look.  M  You  '11  find  that  enough," 
he  replied,  and,  twitching  his  belt  into  place,  went 
on  down  to  the  deck. 

The  next  morning,  when  our  watch  was  called, 
every  eye  was  directed  over  the  bow.  There,  sus- 
pended in  mid-air,  distinct  and  beautiful,  was  the 
grayish  top  of  the  immense  peak. 

"  How  far  away  is  it  ? "  some  one  asked. 

"  A  hund'rd  'n  thirty  odd  milds,"  answered  the 
mate. 

I  do  not  know  whether  the  phenomenon  then  be- 
fore us  was  usual  in  that  region.  I  supposed  that 
every  high  mountain  presented  the  same  kind  of 
appearance  when  approached  from  the  open  sea  as 
did  the  one  before  us,  and  made  no  inquiries  con- 
cerning it.  No  one  on  board  seemed  to  think  the 
scene  out  of  the  common,  and  it  was  looked  upon 
by  us  green  hands  as  matter  of  course.  But  there 
stood  that  enormous  cone,  with  the  blue  of  the  sky 
beneath    it    unbroken    for   hours    while   we   sailed 


Teneriffe  149 

toward  it,  its  base  slowly  widening  and  becoming 
darker,  until  just  at  night  it  rested  upon  the  hori- 
zon, and  the  mountain  rose  ahead  of  us  in  all  its 
massive  grandeur  sheer  twelve  thousand  feet  out  of 
the  ocean.  As  they  ever  fail  to  picture  to  the  mind 
the  form  of  mighty  things,  so  words  fail  to  convey 
the  effect  of  this  mountain  upon  our  imaginations. 
Pico  had  been  gloomily  picturesque ;  this  peak  was 
bright  and  grand. 

We  were  still  many  miles  from  shore,  and  it  was 
not  until  the  next  morning  that  we  hove  to  oppo- 
site Santa  Cruz  de  Santiago,  the  principal  port, 
and,  looking  up  the  sloping  sides  of  the  great 
mound,  fully  appreciated  the  beauty  and  immensity 
of  this  wondrous  giant.  Up,  up,  up,  from  the 
water's  edge  to  the  pointed  top,  from  the  soft  verd- 
ure of  trees  and  tropical  plants  at  the  base  on  to  the 
hard,  bare  brown  rocks  beyond,  and  thence  still  on 
to  the  pink,  purple,  and  dazzling  white  and  gray  in 
the  heavens  above,  we  gaped  and  gaped. 

"  Wa-al?"  asked  Jack. 

"It  is  worth  coming  the  voyage  to  see,'*  I 
replied. 

A  boat  came  off  from  the  shore  to  us,  and  a 
tinsel-covered  officer,  representing  the  Spanish 
crown,  clambered  on  board,  and  held  some  con- 
versation with  the  captain.  An  insurrection  was  in 
progress  upon  the   island,    and   we  could   not  be 


150  On  Board  a  Whaler 

allowed  on  shore.  We  must  go  on  about  our  busi- 
ness until  it  should  be  known  who  was  entitled  to 
rule  this  part  of  Spain. 

Our  disappointment  was  very  great,  but  we  were 
soon  absorbed  again  in  the  scene.  The  dirty  stone 
town  nestling  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  with  its 
wrangling,  ignorant,  ill-ordered  and  worse-governed 
cut-throat  people,  became  nothing  beside  that 
dome.  We  forgot  our  need  for  fresh  water.  We 
even  forgot  to  grumble  as  we  sailed  out  of  the 
harbor  still  gazing,  until  at  nightfall  the  great  peak 
loomed  a  dark  outline  upon  the  sky,  unstirred, 
heedless  of  the  strifes  of  those  people,  as  it  had 
stood  before  Spain  was  and  will  continue  to  stand 
when  Spain  shall  be  forgotten  of  men. 

The  next  morning  we  awoke  under  a  clouded 
sky,  with  nothing  to  be  seen  but  the  restless  ocean, 
and  entered  once  more  upon  the  monotonous 
tediousness  of  life  upon  the  sea. 

It  was  weeks  after  that  before  anything  happened 
worth  mentioning,  and  then  it  was  no  more  than  an 
encounter  with  a  sea  turtle. 

I  was  standing  at  the  masthead  when  we  dis- 
covered him  swimming  near  us. 

"  There  's  a  bustin*  old  mud  turkle  right  along- 
side," I  announced  to  Jim,  who  was  on  the  other 
mast. 

"  Ye-ah!     By  gum,  that  's  a  welter,  too!  "  he 


A  Sea  Turtle  151 

answered,  and  then  reported  the  facts  to  the  officer 
on  deck. 

The  mate  lowered  away  to  effect  a  capture.  The 
instant  the  boat  struck  the  water,  startled  by  the 
noise  of  it,  the  turtle  dived  and  swam  rapidly  away 
from  the  brig ;  but  in  that  crystal-like  sea  his  course 
was  easily  followed,  and  when  he  was  at  last  com- 
pelled to  rise  for  a  breath,  an  iron  was  driven  ruth- 
lessly into  his  short  neck.  The  poor  creature 
struggled  desperately  for  a  few  minutes,  but  was 
overcome  and  hoisted  while  still  alive  upon  our 
deck. 

Aside  from  his  barnacle-covered  back,  his  greater 
size  and  his  clawless  feet,  this  turtle  was  like  his 
brothers  of  the  shore.  He  was  about  six  feet  in 
length  by  four  or  five  in  width,  and  must  have 
weighed  several  hundred  pounds.  The  flesh  was 
made  up  of  the  usual  variety  of  color  and  quality 
found  in  turtles,  and  was  very  palatable.  A  piece 
of  it  was  turned  over  to  Kenney  to  be  cooked  for 
us  in  the  forecastle,  and  was  heartily  enjoyed  there. 

"  Turkle  soup,  please!  "  was  the  cry  by  every 
Yankee  w"hen  the  kid  came  down  to  us  that  day. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

MORE  ABOUT   THE   SPERM   WHALE 


THE  turtle  had  become  a  mere  memory,  and  I 
was  standing  my  turn  aloft.  The  sun  had 
risen  and  was  reflecting  its  rays  from  a  glassy,  heav- 
ing swell,  while  I  listened  for  the  bell  raps  that 
should  summon  me  to  the  more  free  employment 
of  scrubbing  down  the  decks,  maybe.  The  taps 
rang  out,  and  my  foot  was  seeking  a  ratline  under 
the  cross-trees  to  begin  the  descent,  when  some- 
thing away  off  on  the  water  glimmered  and  held 
my  eye.  I  stopped  in  time  to  see  a  dark  object 
gliding  for  a  moment,  and  then  it  sank,  leaving  be- 
hind it  a  small  cloud  which  quickly  faded  to 
nothing. 

152 


More  about  the  Sperm  Whale      153 

The  brig  resounded  then  with  my  cries,  for  again 
I  had  raised  whales. 

A  minute  later  whales  could  be  seen  for  miles  in 
any  direction.  A  school  of  "  cows,"  numbering 
probably  a  hundred,  was  rising  everywhere  about 
us.  The  air  became  suddenly  redolent  almost  to 
suffocation,  not  with  the  fragrant  odors  of  flowers 
and  spices,  but  with  the  nauseating  smell  of  many 
whales.  The  heavy  breathing  of  the  animals,  crash- 
ingly  harsh  or  softly  blowing,  as  the  beasts  were 
near  or  afar,  could  be  heard  from  all  sides.  Great 
black  heads  and  bodies  rose  here  and  there  for  a  few 
seconds  and  sank  noiselessly  as  they  had  come, 
making  no  more  than  a  ripple  upon  the  water;  or 
some  more  active  and  sportive  member  of  the  tribe 
threw  her  whole  body  above  the  ocean,  to  fall  back 
with  a  mighty,  swashing  splash.  Some,  unmindful 
or  unconscious  of  our  presence,  stood  upon  their 
heads  in  the  water,  and  thrashed  it  into  sheets  of 
shining  spray  with  their  fan-spreading  flukes,  'in 
sheer  exuberance  of  frolicsome  life.  All  alike  swam 
or  sported  around  us  wholly  unsuspicious  of  their 
danger. 

An  instinctive  hush  fell  upon  all  on  board,  and 
each  man  tiptoed  to  his  place  in  a  boat.  The 
officers  spoke  in  suppressed  whispers.  The  boats 
were  all  quickly  and  quietly  lowered,  the  whale 
lines  were  looped  over  the  loggerheads,  and,  leaving 


154  On  Board  a  Whaler 

the  oars  across  the  seats,  every  man  of  us  sought 
his  paddle. 

In  a  moment,  not  twenty  feet  ahead  of  our  boat, 
a  rounded  black  hump  came  gliding  up  out  of  the 
water,  a  broad,  smooth  head,  glistening  in  the 
sunbeams,  rose  beside  the  boat-steerer  in  the  bow, 
the  crashing  sound  of  rushing  steam  struck  our 
ears,  and  Jim  was  hidden  from  our  sight  in  the 
cloud  of  vaporous  breath  as  he  drove  both  his  irons 
to  the  handles  into  the  beast. 

"  Stern — stern  all !  "  the  captain  roared. 

We  dipped  our  paddles,  and  the  boat  backed 
away  from  the  floundering  whale.  A  quick  and 
mighty  upheaval  of  water  followed,  the  great  fluke 
swept  high  into  the  air,  and  the  animal  went  swiftly 
down. 

'*  There!"  How  much  of  satisfaction  was  ex- 
pressed in  that  one  word,  while  the  master  beamed 
upon  us! 

But  a  single  moment  was  given  us  in  which  to 
look  around ;  but  in  that  moment  we  saw  dozens  of 
flukes.  Look  where  you  would,  they  rose  glittering 
black,  and  disappeared  amidst  the  spray.  In  one 
mighty  concert  they  flashed  in  mid-air  and  were 
gone.  It  seemed  as  if  every  whale  in  the  school 
had  taken  the  alarm  and  dived. 

Luckily,  both  the  other  boats  had  come  upon 
whales  almost  at  the  same  instant,  and  were  now 


More  about  the  Sperm  Whale       155 

fast.  Indeed,  although  he  was  not  then  in  the 
least  aware  of  it,  the  boat  of  the  mate  was  fast  to 
two  whales.  In  throwing  his  second  iron,  Frank 
had  missed  the  whale  he  aimed  at  and  struck 
another  alongside  of  her. 

Our  line  was  whizzing  out  through  the  chock  at 
the  bow  too  fast  to  suit  the  captain. 

**  Nip  'er  there!  "  he  ordered. 

The  bow  oarsman  succeeded  in  only  partially 
checking  the  outflow  of  the  line,  and  smoke  began 
to  rise  from  the  loggerhead.  The  friction  then 
was  becoming  serious. 

"  Douse  that  line,  Tom!  " 

I  bailed  a  bucketful  of  sea-water  into  the  tub 
behind  me  and  followed  it  by  another  on  the  logger- 
head. 

The  line  continued  to  run  rapidly  out  until  the 
first  tub  had  been  emptied  and  the  other  was  little 
more  than  half  filled.  Then  it  slackened  and  we 
secured  a  second  turn  with  it  around  the  post.  A 
minute  later,  dozens  of  whales  could  be  seen  break- 
ing from  the  water  something  like  a  fourth  of  a  mile 
from  us;  and  then,  towed  by  our  line,  we  moved 
off  in  the  wake  of  the  fleeing  school. 

The  rate  of  speed  was  much  less  than  it  had  been 
when  we  were  towed  by  the  killer.  If  we  had  been 
chasing  the  whales  with  the  oars,  we  would  have 
thought  it  fast  enough ;  but  as  it  was  the  pace  set 


156  On  Board  a  Whaler 

seemed  rather  slow.  It  probably  did  not  exceed 
eight  or  nine  miles  an  hour.  The  deep  tunnel  into 
which  we  had  seemed  to  sink  behind  the  swifter 
animal  was  absent,  and  we  could  see  in  any  direc- 
tion without  interference  from  the  spray  cast  from 
the  head  of  the  boat. 

It  was  very  comfortable  sitting  in  our  boat  and 
holding  the  line  while  we  watched  what  went  on 
behind  us.  The  mate's  whales,  for  some  or  no 
reason,  were  slower  to  rise  than  ours  had  been ;  and 
we  were  well  under  way,  with  the  water  rippling 
musically  past  us,  when,  side  by  side,  the  two 
rounded,  square-nosed  heads  rose  less  than  a  hun- 
dred feet  astern  of  our  boat. 

On  they  came,  neck  and  neck  like  racers,  making 
the  peculiar  lunges  before  observed  in  the  run  of 
the  bulls.  The  heads  would  shoot  up  five,  six, 
eight,  sometimes  ten  feet,  and  come  dashing  after 
us  with  the  waves  foaming  and  tumbling  out  on 
each  side  for  a  few  seconds ;  then  down  they  would 
slump  out  of  sight,  in  another  moment  to  again 
come  rushing  along  after  us. 

In  less  than  ten  minutes  after  we  began  to  move, 
for  half  a  mile  back  of  us,  dozens  of  other  whales 
were  coming,  all  with  the  same  awkward,  plunging 
leaps,  and  all  moving  pell-mell  in  the  one  common 
direction.  The  school  was  bunching  and  we  were 
near  the  middle  of  the  group. 


More  about  the  Sperm  Whale      157 

The  second  mate,  who  was  at  some  distance  in 
advance  of  our  boat,  like  us  was  surrounded  by 
frightened,  fleeing  whales. 

"  They  seem  to  be  coming  together,  sir,"  I  re- 
marked to  the  captain  before  he  changed  ends  in 
the  boat  with  Jim. 

"  Ye-ah.  When  yeh  hit  one,  yeh  hit  the  hull  lot. 
The'  most  always  do  this  way,"  he  replied  good- 
naturedly. 

When  one  of  a  school  of  sperm  whales  is  struck, 
it  seems  to  be  the  custom  for  them  to  join  in  flight. 
On  the  occasion  of  our  failure  to  secure  the  game, 
though  in  the  start  the  whales  were  scattered  over 
a  large  territory,  they  all  came  together  in  a  little 
while,  and  after  that  kept  throughout  the  day  in  a 
compact  group,  until  they  had  nearly  completed  a 
circuit  of  the  vessel.  So  now,  as  we  left  the  brig 
this  school  had  been  scattered  far  and  wide  in  every 
direction,  yet  within  a  few  minutes  here  they  were 
practically  in  a  single  body,  moving  in  concert  and 
seemingly  controlled  by  one  mind. 

These  coincidences  can  scarcely  be  attributed  to 
accident.  It  is  possible  that  instinct  is  the  govern- 
ing power,  but  it  has  much  the  appearance  of  an 
intelligent  marshalling  in  consequence  of  some  kind 
of  communication  between  the  whales. 

As  they  ran,  the  whales  came  gradually  closer 
and  closer  to  each  other  until  we  found  ourselves 


158  On  Board  a  Whaler 

hemmed  in  among  the  mass  of  heaving,  plunging, 
blowing  animals,  as  they  moved  swiftly  along  im- 
pelled by  the  common  impulse  to  escape.  The 
waters  were  alive  over  a  space  of  some  acres  with 
the  rushing  troop,  amidst  which  it  was  no  longer 
possible  for  us  to  identify  the  span  of  the  mate  or 
our  own  particular  prey. 

It  did  not  seem  to  occur  to  anybody  that  the 
rising  of  one  of  those  scrambling  brutes  under  our 
boat,  even  by  accident,  must  result  in  sending  us 
out  into  the  seething,  writhing  jam,  to  certain 
death.  .  We  were  oblivious  to  all  danger  there  as 
we  watched  the  scene  around  us. 

M  Look — look — sure  's  y'r  born  there  's  a  bull — 
see  'im  ?     He  's  a  dandy — that  feller — hey  ?  " 

•?  Did  yeh  see  that  calf— eh  ?  Wa'  n't  'e  slick  ?— 
There — there — d'  yeh  see  'im  ?  " 

"  Yeh  c'n  bet  y'r  boots  the'  's  a  sock-dologer 
headin'  this  procession.  Wisht  we  could  git  fast 
to  him— eh  ?  " 

These  and  similar  remarks  coming  from  the  boys 
in  quick  succession,  as  half  delirious  with  the  joyous 
excitement  we  were  borne  along  in  the  midst  of 
that  school  of  monsters,  showed  their  state  of  mind. 

Soon  our  boat  commenced  to  lag.  Our  weight 
was  beginning  to  tell  upon  the  powers  of  our  whale. 
One  by  one  the  other  whales — those  still  behind  us 
— overtook  and  passed  us  by.     The  mate  then  came 


THE  WATERS  WERE  ALIVE  WITH  THE  RUSHING  TROOP. 


More  about  the  Sperm  Whale       159 

slipping  alongside,  near  enough  to  call  out  as  he 
passed : 

'■*  Ta,  ta,  boys!  Y'r  a  bit  slow  for  this  crowd. 
Bye,  bye.    We  '11  see  yeh  agin  after  a  while,  mebbe. 

A  few  minutes  later,  the  line  in  front  of  us  hung 
limp  at  the  bow,  and  the  boat  glided  on  over  it. 
Our  whale  had  come  to  a  standstill  and  was  waiting 
our  will  at  the  other  end  of  the  rope. 

We  could  still  see  the  other  whales  ahead  of  us, 
both  our  boats  yet  among  them  but  well  to  the  rear 
of  the  school. 

Jim  now  changed  ends  in  the  boat  with  the  cap- 
tain, and  we  pulled  up  by  the  line  to  within  a  few 
yards  of  our  whale,  when  we  were  ordered  to  take 
the  oars. 

*'  Put  me  on  'er,  Jim,"  the  captain  ordered. 

V  Pull!  "  came  from  Jim  to  us. 

'«  There— hold  'erso." 

**  Hold  'er,  sir." 

"  Stern  easy,  boys.     There!  " 

The  boat  was  resting  with  her  bow  within  three 
feet  of  the  sides  of  the  whale. 

I  could  now  hear  the  captain's  "  Ugh-ugh-ugh!  " 
as  he  thrust  his  lance  into  the  animal,  and  it  re- 
quired all  my  powers  of  self-control  to  keep  from 
turning  my  head  to  see  what  was  being  done. 

M  Jest  a  leetle  furder  forrard.  I  can't  quite  tech 
the  spot." 


160  On  Board  a  Whaler 

"  Stern  a  leetle — there.  Pull  ahead  easy — there! 
Hold  'er  now,"  Jim  directed  us,  and  the  bow  of  the 
boat  had  been  changed  to  the  desired  place. 

"  Ugh!— ugh! " 

"  Stern! — Stern  all !  "  screamed  Jim. 

With  all  our  strength  we  threw  ourselves  on  the 
oars  and  the  boat  shot  back  from  the  now  dying 
whale. 

A  stream  of  blood  burst  from  the  top  of  the 
whale's  head,  and  then  she  rushed  away  in  a  circle 
about  the  boat,  lashing  the  waves  into  foam  in  the 
agony  of  her  death  throes.  Her  sufferings  were 
quickly  over,  and  the  huge  body  settled  back  in  its 
bed,  nothing  more  than  a  great  black  thing. 

In  the  meantime  a  light  breeze  had  sprung  up, 
enabling  the  brig  to  move  down  upon  us,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  she  hove  to  near  our  whale. 

We  then  cut  our  line  short  and  passed  it  on 
board  the  vessel,  after  which,  Jim  having  bent  on 
two  more  irons,  we  rowed  away  to  the  assistance  of 
the  mate,  who  was  awaiting  our  coming.  When 
we  came  near  enough  for  us  to  hear  him,  he 
shouted : 

M  We  did  n't  like  to  kill  this  one  afore  yeh  got 
down  here — 'fraid  she  'd  yank  the  iron  loose  from 
t'  other  one." 

At  the  moment,  "  this"  one  was  lying  on  her 
back  not  far  from  our  boat,  with  her  long  under  jaw 


More  about  the  Sperm  Whale       161 

standing  upright  out  of  the  water;  while  the  hump 
of  her  sister  rose  above  the  surface  a  little  to  one 
side  of  her. 

As  we  arrived  on  the  scene,  a  calf  swam  along- 
side the  boat  as  though  to  greet  it,  and  then  dived 
under  its  mother.  It  was  something  like  ten  feet 
in  length,  about  as  large  around  its  body  as  a  com- 
mon sugar  barrel,  and  of  a  yellowish  cream  color — 
evidently  a  very  young  whale.  Neither  one  of  the 
grown  whales  appeared  to  take  any  notice  of  us. 

"  Guess  we  '11  have  to  shoot  'em.  Likely  they  '11 
start  evener  that  way,"  the  captain  suggested. 

"  All  right,  suh.  This  darned  ol'  gun  '11  prob'bly 
rip  the  shoulder  off  o'  me,"  the  mate  complained, 
"  but  I  guess  mebbe  I  c'n  stand  it." 

With  the  captain  standing  in  our  bow,  gun  in 
hand,  we  headed  for  the  whale  whose  hump  was 
exposed,  and  the  mate  prepared  to  shoot  the  other 
one. 

I  was  obliged  to  keep  to  my  oar,  and  could  not 
see  what  the  captain  was  doing,  but  the  mate  and 
his  whale  were  both  in  sight  of  me. 

As  she  lay,  the  back  of  this  whale  bowed  greatly 
and  the  middle  portions  of  the  body  were  sunk  too 
deep  under  the  water  to  be  successfully  reached  by 
a  bomb,  and  we  were  compelled  to  wait  for  a  more 
favorable  opportunity  to  shoot.  Indeed,  when  the 
animals   lie   right  side  up,   the  water  is  a   serious 


1 62  On  Board  a  Whaler 

obstacle  to  the  use  of  guns  for  killing  them,  since  it 
is  only  upon  the  recession  of  the  waves  from  their 
sides,  or  upon  some  fortunate  roll  or  movement  of 
the  beast,  that  his  vital  parts  are  exposed  to  the 
shot.  It  would  be  the  merest  chance  that  a  bomb 
sent  into  the  hump  or  back  of  the  whale  would 
prove  fatal  to  him. 

At  last  the  jaw  of  the  animal  I  was  watching 
closed  with  a  snap,  the  long  body  straightened  out, 
and  in  a  moment  a  side  paddle  showed  itself  above 
the  water.  Instantly  the  gun  of  the  mate  spoke 
and  a  bomb  entered  behind  that  flipper.  At  the 
same  instant  I  heard  the  roar  of  the  captain's  gun, 
and  another  bomb  had  been  sent  upon  its  death- 
dealing  errand  into  the  vitals  of  another  whale,  and 
the  cries  of  both  the  boat-steerers  were  resounding: 

44  Stern— stern  all!  " 

The  now  rushing  whales  started  off  in  opposite 
ways,  snapping  the  line  as  though  it  had  been  cot- 
ton thread,  a  matter  of  no  consequence  then,  since 
both  animals  were  spouting  blood,  and  nothing 
would  be  longer  needed  to  hold  the  boats  to  them. 

44  There  's  more  yit  for  us  to  do,  boys,"  the  cap- 
tain declared  exultantly.     44  Git  away!  " 

We  bent  once  more  to  our  work,  and  in  two  or 
three  minutes  were  up  with  the  second  mate. 

44  There  's  another  whale  here  som'ers,"  he  an- 
nounced; 44  an'  I   've  been  hangin'  off,  hopin'  for 


More  about  the  Sperm  Whale       163 

some  of  yeh  to  git  down  here  an'  hook  on  to  'er, 
afore  I  killed  mine." 

Just  then  a  glistening,  round,  black  mound  rose 
silently  out  of  the  water  fifty  or  more  yards  away, 
followed  almost  at  once  by  the  broad  head  of  a  cow 
whale,  the  vaporous  breath  came  crashing  out,  and 
the  great  body  sank  again  from  sight. 

"  There  she  is!  She  's  be'n  hangin'  'round  ever 
sense  this  one  hove  to,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Brown. 

**  All  right,  we  '11  hitch  on  to  'er,"  responded  the 
captain. 

"  Shall  I  change  ends,  suh  ? "  asked  Jim. 

"  No,  you  put  me  on  to  'er." 

"  Pull,  boys!  "  commanded  Jim. 

We  laid  to  our  oars  and  the  boat  moved  ahead  to 
the  place  where  Jim  believed  the  whale  would  rise. 
A  few  seconds  later  the  hump  glistened  for  a 
second  time  in  the  sunlight,  this  time  directly  ahead 
of  and  almost  under  the  bow  of  the  boat,  and  the 
captain  pushed  both  his  irons  down  into  the  great 
body. 

"  Z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z !  "  sang  our  whale  line  as  it  flew 
out  and  out  in  spite  of  frantic  efforts  of  the  bow 
oarsman  to  grip  it  with  his  canvas  nippers,  until 
the  captain  was  standing  at  the  bow  holding  the 
buoy  ready  to  be  dropped,  and  Jim  had  been 
ordered  to  cast  off  the  turn  at  the  loggerhead. 
Both  tubs  had  been  emptied  of  their  line  and  only 


1 64  On  Board  a  Whaler 

that  held  by  the  captain  remained,  when  the  whale 
stopped  in  her  downward  flight,  and  the  buoy  was 
not  dropped. 

We  then  dragged  enough  of  the  line  into  the  boat 
to  secure  another  turn  with  it  around  the  logger- 
head and  waited  for  the  reappearance  of  our  game. 

In  the  meantime  we  could  watch  the  procedure 
of  the  other  crew. 

As  soon  as  we  were  fast  to  the  loose  whale,  Mr. 
Brown  commenced  work  on  the  one  to  which  they 
were  fast.  Like  the  other  whales  that  had  been 
killed  that  day,  this  one  lay  there  quietly  submis- 
sive to  her  fate.  Again  and  again  the  officer  thrust 
his  lance  deeply  through  the  blubber  of  the  animal 
without  visible  effect,  until  he  finally  announced 
with  apparent  disgust : 

M  The  blamed  critter  hain't  got  no  blood,  no- 
how." 

But  she  had  blood,  and  he  reached  it  a  few 
seconds  later.  A  wave-like  tremor  passed  the 
length  of  the  whale,  her  head  was  suddenly  raised 
high  into  the  air,  and  she  came  plunging  toward 
our  boat.  In  another  moment  we  were  smothering 
in  blood  blown  from  her  nostril,  the  huge  animal 
was  rushing  swiftly  along  beside  us,  the  light  was 
shut  from  above  us  by  the  great  fluke  swinging  over 
the  boat,  and  a  horrible  crashing  swash  told  of  how 
nearly  it  had  missed  the  bow.     In  a  second  it  was 


More  about  the  Sperm  Whale      165 

all  over,  and  the  whale  was  floundering  off  in  the 
inevitable  circle,  lashing  the  sea  in  her  flurry,  while 
we  shivered  and  shuddered  and  looked. 

"  Jee-e-e-r^^-alam !  but  that  was  clost,"  ejacu- 
lated Jim,  drawing  a  long  breath. 

Ten  or  fifteen  minutes  later  the  last  whale  came 
to  the  surface,  and  after  a  short  run  hove  to  and 
submitted  to  be  slaughtered,  as  her  kindred  had 
done. 

So  rapidly  had  one  event  followed  another  that 
morning,  we  found  ourselves  all  back  on  board  the 
brig  with  five  whales  securely  moored  alongside, 
before  noon. 

As  we  finished  tying  up  the  last  whale,  the  cap- 
tain shouted : 

"  Extra  duff  and  pie  atop  on  't!  " 

And  the  promise  was  fulfilled  that  evening. 


CHAPTER    XVII 

ANATOMY,    PHYSIOLOGY,    HYGIENE,    DIET,    AND 
PHILOSOPHY 

IT  is  not  my  intention  to  weary  the  reader  with 
any  attempted  description  of  the  work  done 
during  the  next  two  weeks.  The  cutting  in  of  a 
sperm  whale  is  a  much  more  complicated  proceed- 
ing than  the  stripping  of  the  blubber  from  a  killer, 
because  of  a  number  of  peculiar  anatomical  features 
that  will  be  mentioned  here.  Indeed,  I  did  not  ob- 
tain an  accurate  knowledge  of  all  the  details  of  the 
process  while  on  the  voyage.  My  duties  were  so 
various  and  without  system  as  to  forbid  anything 
like  a  thorough  observation  or  understanding  of 
the  work  by  me  at  the  time  it  was  done.  The  at- 
tempts of  others  too  at  such  descriptions  warn  me 
against  the  undertaking;  and  I  shall  content  myself 
with  a  reference  to  the  illustration  at  the  head  of 
the  last  chapter,  where  the  lines  of  cutting  are 
partially  mapped  out. 

Of  course,  with  the  first  flow  of  blood  the  sharks 

1 66 


Anatomy,  Physiology,  Hygiene    167 

commenced  to  gather;  and  by  the  time  we  got  to 
the  brig  they  were  there  in  the  usual  swarms. 

The  calf,  too,  remained  swimming  about  its  dead 
mother  until  we  had  tied  the  carcase  to  the  vessel, 
and  soon  after  that  disappeared.  It  was  of  no  value 
to  us  and  was  left  untouched. 

We  were  allowed  to  eat  our  fill  of  salt  junk  and 
potatoes  before  being  summoned  to  the  work.  A 
number  of  blanket  pieces,  three  or  four  feet  wide 
and  six  inches  thick,  were  lying  on  the  deck  before 
we  had  our  duff  and  pie ;  and  after  that  the  work 
continued  without  interruption  until  we  had  stowed 
away  in  the  casks  below  a  hundred  and  fifty  barrels 
more  of  oil. 

The  sperm  whale  is  often  found  in  schools  such  as 
we  had  come  upon  —  schools  made  up  almost  ex- 
clusively of  one  of  the  sexes.  The  first  school  we 
saw  was  composed  exclusively  of  males.  This  we 
knew  from  their  great  size.  There  is  usually  little 
or  nothing  in  the  general  appearance  of  whales  to 
indicate  the  sex  when  seen  swimming  in  the  water; 
but,  in  the  sperm  whale,  the  disparity  of  size  be- 
tween the  female  and  the  male  is  such  that  whale- 
men determine  the  sex  at  sight  from  great  distances. 
The  female  is  seldom  more  than  a  third  as  large  as 
her  full-grown  brother,  and  is  timid  by  nature. 
Hence,  if  the  whale  is  seen  to  be  of  great  size,  the 
whaleman  approaches  with  a  feeling  of  trepidation. 


1 68  On  Board  a  Whaler 

He  knows  he  has  to  deal  with  a  bull,  an  animal 
which  enjoys  a  reputation  for  fighting  considerably 
out  of  proportion  with  the  facts  supposed  to  furnish 
the  foundation  for  it. 

The  male  is  often  found  alone,  or  with  from  one 
to  a  dozen  companions  of  his  own  sex  —  rarely  if 
ever  with  more;  while  the  female  is  met  with  in 
schools  numbering  anywhere  from  a  dozen  to  more 
than  a  hundred  —  never  alone. 

It  is  said  that  these  large  schools  are  usually 
led  by  some  gray-headed  patriarch,  and  that 
half-grown  bulls  are  often  found  among  them. 
The  school  from  which  we  had  made  our  captures 
was  certainly  made  up  almost  exclusively  of  cow 
whales.  There  were  differences  in  the  sizes  of  the 
animals,  but  none  such  as  to  make  it  sure  any  of 
them  were  males.  Some  of  the  boys  seem  to  be- 
lieve they  saw  bulls  among  them,  but  I  was  not 
able  to  confirm  the  notion  by  my  own  observation. 

There  were  a  great  many  calves  in  the  school, 
varying  from  those  of  a  day  old,  such  as  the  one 
already  mentioned,  up  to  youngsters  scarcely  dis- 
tinguishable from  their  mothers. 

The  calves  are  harpooned  by  whalemen  only  when 
a  full-grown  whale  cannot  be  otherwise  reached. 

If  there  seems  a  probability  that  the  mother  will 
escape  unless  it  be  done,  an  iron  will  be  thrown  into 
a  calf  in  the  hope  that  its  dam  will  return  to  look 


Anatomy,  Physiology,  Hygiene    169 

for  it ;  and  this  hope  is  frequently  realized.  In  such 
a  case,  after  all  the  other  whales  have  gone  on  be- 
yond sight,  the  mother  will  hover  around  her  off- 
spring until  she  falls  herself  a  victim  to  the  whale- 
men, when  the  calf  may  be  allowed  to  go  free. 

It  is  not  uncommon,  either,  for  one  cow  whale  to 
linger  in  sympathy  around  another  one,  as  was  done 
at  the  time  of  which  I  have  written.  They  seem  to 
have  no  idea  of  attempting  the  rescue  of  their 
friend,  but  in  apparent  solicitude  for  her  fate,  swim 
slowly  about  in  the  vicinity  until  they  come  to 
share  it. 

The  whales  we  now  had  alongside  were  small 
whales,  then,  for  they  were  all  cows;  yet  there  was 
flesh  and  bone  enough  in  the  smallest  of  them  to 
have  made  five  of  the  largest  elephants  ever  seen. 

In  general  appearance  they  resembled  greatly 
magnified  blackfishes;  but  they  were  lighter  in 
color  and  less  disgusting  to  look  upon.  The  heads 
were  chopped  off  rather  more  abruptly  than  those 
of  the  blackfishes,  and  the  bodies  were  equally 
rounded  and  clumsy  in  shape;  but  the  color  was 
varied  from  coal  black  or  dark  brown  on  the  backs 
to  a  yellowish  gray  on  the  bellies,  gradually  shading 
and  blending  into  each  other  upon  the  sides;  while 
the  mouth  was  much  more  presentable  than  that  of 
the  smaller  whales.  The  tongues  were  less  promin- 
ent  and    lighter    in  color;  and   the  teeth,   though 


170  On  Board  a  Whaler 

confined  to  the  lower  jaws,  were  more  perfect.  In 
length,  they  varied  from  forty  to  fifty  feet,  and  in 
the  diameters  of  their  bodies  from  six  to  eight  feet. 
The  flukes  spread  to  a  width  about  equal  to  a  fifth 
or  a  sixth  of  the  lengths  of  the  animals. 

But  the  head  of  the  whale,  which  constitutes 
almost  if  not  quite  a  third  of  the  animal,  deserves 
the  most  special  attention,  not  only  because  it  is 
the  most  valuable  part,  but  because  its  anatomical 
make-up  accounts  for  several  things  that  have 
already  been  noticed  in  these  pages. 

At  first  sight  one  marvels  that  a  creature  pos- 
sessed of  such  a  log  of  a  head  can  make  his  way 
along  with  anything  like  the  rapidity  with  which  we 
know  this  whale  moves.  Looked  at  from  the  front, 
this  head  seems  to  present  an  insurmountable  ob- 
stacle to  quick  passage  through  water,  for  it  offers  a 
perfectly  flat  surface  of  several  square  yards'  extent 
to  be  forced  through  the  sea,  and  until  we  light  upon 
the  explanation  the  accomplished  facts  seem  to  be 
miraculous. 

This  explanation  is  found  when  we  examine  the 
under  jaw  of  the  animal  and  remember  his  odd 
antics  while  on  a  run.  On  one  of  these  cows,  from 
the  corner  of  the  mouth  to  its  free  end,  the  under 
jaw  was  about  ten  feet  long ;  while  where  it  joined 
the  head  it  was  something  like  two  feet  wide,  thence 
tapering  steadily  to  something  like  five  inches  at  its 


Anatomy,  Physiology,  Hygiene    171 

extreme  point.  Its  under  surface  was  a  long  ridge 
of  bone  tightly  wrapped  in  skin,  and  was  almost 
sharp  in  its  outline.  If  the  animal  were  to  be  held 
partially  erect  in  the  water,  this  ridge  would  look 
not  unlike  the  cutwater  of  a  ship ;  and,  in  fact,  when 
the  whale  is  in  active  flight,  the  ridge  serves  exactly 
the  same  office  as  does  such  a  cutwater. 

The  killers,  when  fleeing  from  us,  had  hardly 
lifted  their  heads  at  all  from  the  water.  There  was 
no  need  of  their  doing  so.  Their  heads  were  wedge- 
shaped  and  offered  the  slightest  possible  resistance 
to  progress  in  the  sea.  Lifting  their  noses  just  high 
enough  to  take  breath,  they  poked  them  back  into 
the  waves  and  sped  along.  Not  so  with  the  sperm 
whale.  His  square  head  could  not  be  thus  forced 
through  the  ocean.  A  way  must  be  cut  for  it,  or 
the  whale  must  fall  an  easy  prey  to  his  pursuer. 
This  road  is  made  by  bringing  the  long,  sharp  under 
jaw  to  the  front  to  divide  the  waves.  As  the  head 
is  thrust  high  into  the  air  the  jaw  is  thrown  well 
forward  and  the  animal  ploughs  his  course  through 
the  sea  precisely  as  a  ship  does. 

This  was  sufficiently  proven  to  us  by  the  mate's 
span  as  they  came  along  behind  our  boat.  A  head 
would  be  suddenly  lifted  and  the  animal  would 
rush  along  until  she  had  overtaken  and  passed  her 
companion,  who  had  slumped  from  sight  the  mo- 
ment before ;  then  she  would  sink  in  her  turn  under 


i72  On  Board  a  Whaler 

the  waves  and  the  other  whale  would  rise  in  a  simi- 
lar leap  to  outstrip  her  fellow  in  the  race.  So  they 
came  after  us  in  a  series  of  those  lunges,  alternately 
passing  and  falling  behind  each  other,  until  both 
were  lost  to  us  among  the  scrambling  school  that 
surrounded  the  boat. 

The  head  is  seemingly  too  heavy  to  be  long  main- 
tained by  the  animal  above  the  water,  so  he  lets  it 
drop  at  intervals  while  he  secures  a  fresh  hold  upon 
his  element,  and  then  makes  another  lunge  and  re- 
peats it  over  and  over  until  he  is  exhausted,  after 
which  he  lies  like  a  conquered  sheep,  submissive  to 
the  will  of  his  foes. 

A  set  of  strong  ivory  teeth  project  in  pairs  from 
each  side  of  the  lower  jaw,  their  size  seeming  to 
bear  little  relation  to  the  dimensions  of  the  whale  in 
which  they  were  found.  The  largest  teeth  we  saw 
on  the  voyage  were  cut  from  the  jaw  of  one  of  the 
small  cow  whales  alongside  the  brig.  They  stood 
up  four  or  five  inches  out  of  the  gum,  were  hooked 
slightly  backwards,  and  bluntly  rounded  at  the  ends. 
In  number  they  are  said  to  vary  in  different  speci- 
mens, but  in  each  of  those  that  we  saw  there  were 
twenty-four  pairs  of  these  teeth,  set  at  intervals  of 
some  inches  along  each  edge  of  the  jaw.  There 
were  no  teeth  of  any  sort  on  the  upper  jaw  and  no 
grinders  on  the  lower. 

The  principal  food  of  the  sperm  whale  is  believed 


Anatomy,  Physiology,  Hygiene    173 

to  be  the  giant  squid,  a  mollusk  of  which  very  little 
is  accurately  known.  No  one  on  board  our  brig 
claimed  ever  to  have  seen  the  whole  of  one,  either 
dead  or  alive. 

We  saw  a  number  of  pieces  of  arms  and  tentacles 
that  had  been  torn  from  these  monsters  and  swal- 
lowed by  whales,  and  the  teeth  of  the  sperm  whale 
are  well  adapted  for  use  in  encounters  with  such 
creatures.  Once  we  saw  an  unusually  large  piece  of 
a  tentacle  floating  near  our  boat,  looking  as  if  it  had 
been  just  torn  from  its  owner  and  then  dropped 
without  having  been  swallowed.  It  was  of  a  red- 
dish-green color,  five  or  six  feet  long  and  perhaps 
four  inches  thick,  indented  somewhat  on  the  sides 
where  it  had  been  squeezed  into  the  spaces  between 
the  teeth  of  the  cachalot,  and  supplied  with  a  num- 
ber of  bony  hooks  in  size  and  shape  like  the  bills  of 
hawks.  The  body  of  the  squid  from  which  that 
tentacle  was  torn  was  probably  as  large  as  any  that 
have  been  reported  by  reliable  witnesses;  but,  in 
my  judgment,  a  dozen  such  arms  would  have  offered 
no  obstacle  to  the  passage  of  the  whale  that  tore  it 
away. 

In  spite  of  the  many  and  wonderful  accounts  of 
the  size  and  strength  of  the  squid  and  kraken  that 
have  been  evolved  from  the  imaginations  of  writers 
concerning  the  monsters  of  the  ocean,  there  seems 
to  me  no  sound  reason  to  suppose  that  any  mollusk 


174  On  Board  a  Whaler 

existing  in  the  sea  is  sufficiently  powerful  to  offer 
dangerous  combat  to  the  sperm  whale.  The  octopus 
is  not  constructed  thus  to  contend  with  the  whale. 
He  lacks  the  skeleton  requisite  as  a  basis  for  the 
muscular  action  needed  for  such  a  fight.  His  flesh 
is  soft,  and  he  has  literally  no  backbone  —  he  is 
nothing  but  a  mollusk,  albeit  the  most  powerful  of 
his  kind.  The  animal  he  must  meet  not  only  has  a 
bony  frame  and  spinal  column  in  proportion  to  his 
great  size;  but  he  has  a  muscular  system  which  in 
sheer  exuberance  of  its  strength  is  able  to  toss  a 
hundred  tons  clear  from  the  water  into  the  air. 
The  largest  squid  ever  seen  would  weigh  less  than  a 
tenth  as  much  as  the  smallest  cow  whale ;  while  his 
arms  and  tentacles  would  be  torn  away  and  the  life 
crushed  from  his  soft  body  by  the  mere  weight  of 
contact  with  the  animal. 

It  certainly  should  require  more  and  better  evi- 
dence than  has  been  so  far  adduced  to  convince  the 
reasoning  mind  that  any  mollusk,  squid,  kraken,  or 
poulpe  ever  gave  a  sperm  whale  serious  trouble  in 
combat. 

The  squid  is  said  to  be  always  ready  to  embrace 
with  fatal  ardor  any  object  coming  within  its  grasp ; 
and  to  keep  its  long  tentacles  feeling  around  for 
something  upon  which  to  bestow  its  attentions. 
The  lower  jaw  of  the  sperm  whale  can  be  extended 
to  nearly  or  quite  a  right  angle  with  its  body,  and 


Anatomy,  Physiology,  Hygiene    175 

when  so  dropped  it  might  offer  a  tempting  object 
for  such  an  embrace.  It  is  not  improbable  that  the 
whale,  groping  his  way  in  the  dark  recesses  at  the 
bottom  of  the  ocean,  does  offer  his  jaw  thus  as  a 
bait  for  the  mollusk,  when  the  arms  of  the  monster 
are  entwined  about  it  and  are  broken  away  as  the 
animal  pursues  his  unchecked  course,  to  be  swal- 
lowed at  leisure  afterwards. 

Next  to  the  under  jaw,  the  upper  part  of  the  head 
is  interesting.  If  the  flesh  be  removed  from  the 
skull  of  the  sperm  whale,  the  head  is  found  to  be  as 
nearly  wedge-shaped  as  that  of  the  killer;  but  above 
the  bones  of  the  skull  and  resting  upon  them  is  an 
enormous  mass  of  spongy  tissue  known  as  junk,  to 
which  we  shall  refer  more  particularly  later  on.  On 
the  right  hand  side,  imbedded  near  the  top  of  this 
junk,  is  a  remarkable  cavity  called  the  case,  from 
which  it  is  not  uncommon  to  bail  by  means  of 
buckets  ten  or  twelve  barrels  of  clear  oil.  The  use 
of  this  sac  in  the  economy  of  the  animal  has  not, 
so  far  as  I  am  aware,  been  satisfactorily  explained ; 
but  its  presence  in  the  head  may  account  for  one  of 
the  phenomena  already  mentioned  in  referring  to 
the  movements  of  the  whale. 

If  death  does  not  occur  instantaneously,  when 
fatally  wounded  the  sperm  whale  goes  into  a  con- 
vulsion during  the  progress  of  which  he  invariably 
travels  in  a  circle.     It  has  also  been  noticed  that 


176  On  Board  a  Whaler 

when  he  takes  to  flight  and  runs  very  far  his  course 
takes  the  form  of  a  circle.  In  his  death  throes, 
every  such  whale  that  we  killed  on  the  voyage 
started  on  a  circle  to  the  left. 

May  not  the  position  of  the  case  on  one  side  of 
the  whale's  head  explain  this  singular  coincidence  ? 

The  oil  in  the  case  is  much  lighter  than  the  tissue 
on  the  other  side  of  the  head  ;  hence  the  left  side  of 
the  head  is  heavier  than  the  right  side.  When  the 
whale  goes  into  his  death  flurry,  and  his  course  is 
taken  independently  of  his  will,  the  heavy  side  of 
his  head  lags  behind,  causing  the  acute  curve  we 
have  noticed.  So,  too,  when  the  will  holds  lessen- 
ing sway  by  reason  of  the  exhaustion  of  the  animal 
by  long-continued  flight,  the  same  thing  happens, 
though  in  less  marked  degree.  In  either  case,  the 
heavier  side  drags  upon  the  lighter,  and  the  circle 
results. 

The  eye  and  the  ear  of  the  whale  also  deserve 
remark  here. 

In  addition  to  being  exceedingly  small  in  propor- 
tion to  the  other  dimensions  of  the  animal,  the  eye 
is  placed  a  little  way  back  of  the  corner  of  the  mouth 
nearly  a  third  of  the  distance  from  the  end  of  the 
head  to  the  fluke,  where  it  is  impossible  for  him  to 
bring  it  to  bear  upon  any  object  either  in  front  of 
or  behind  him.  This  will  be  referred  to  more  par- 
ticularly later  on. 


Anatomy,  Physiology,  Hygiene    177 

The  external  ear  is  marked  by  a  mere  slit  in  the 
skin  scarcely  an  inch  in  length  and  a  fourth  of  an 
inch  in  width  when  opened  its  widest,  placed  about 
a  foot  back  from  the  eye,  and  so  constructed  as  to 
be  completely  impervious  to  water  when  the  animal 
sinks  to  any  considerable  depth. 

This  mechanism  is  but  another  of  the  innumerable 
evidences  of  design  in  the  creation  of  animals  met 
by  us  at  every  turn.  Men  find  it  impossible  to  de- 
scend far  into  the  sea  without  a  rupture  of  the 
drums  of  their  ears  from  pressure  of  the  water  upon 
them ;  and  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  sperm 
whale  must  often  seek  his  food  miles  under  the  sur- 
face, it  is  clear  that  without  some  peculiar  formation 
of  his  ear,  he  would  rise  from  his  first  sounding  en- 
tirely deaf;  hence  the  needed  protection  has  been 
furnished  by  a  self-closing  orifice,  and  the  deeper  the 
animal  goes  the  more  perfect  is  the  working  of  the 
device. 

Nor  does  the  diminutive  size  of  the  outer  ear 
seem  to  prevent  an  acute  sense  of  hearing  in  the 
whale,  as  we  had  abundant  proof  many  times  on 
this  voyage. 

But,  even  though  no  more  than  a  reference  be 
made  to  them,  there  are  so  many  peculiar  things 
about  the  structure  of  the  sperm  whale  that  there 
seems  danger  of  becoming  tedious,  such  as  the 
nostril,  the  bunch  of  the  neck,  the  ridge,  the  hump, 


178  On  Board  a  Whaler 

the  small,  and  the  fluke,  all  of  which  must  be  passed 
without  further  attention  ;  but  there  are  two  matters 
relating  to  the  conduct  of  these  animals  to  which 
allusion  will  be  made. 

After  his  first  struggle  for  liberty,  I  have  said  the 
sperm  whale  was  like  a  conquered  sheep,  and  have 
spoken  of  his  flurry  as  a  convulsion. 

When  first  caught,  a  ram  will  struggle  furiously 
to  escape,  but  soon  subsides  and  remains  passive 
afterwards  until  fully  sheared.  So  it  was  with 
these  whales.  The  first  passionate  flight  over  with, 
they  lay  before  us  ready  for  the  sacrifice.  Not 
every  sheep  will  remain  quiet  when  nipped  with  the 
shears;  and  not  every  whale  we  saw  lay  quiet  when 
prodded  with  a  lance;  but  the  majority  of  both 
sheep  and  whales  are  completely  submissive  after 
the  first  effort  to  get  away.  So  the  flurry  seems  to 
be  in  the  nature  of  a  convulsion. 

If  merely  frightened,  or  when  undisturbed,  the 
whale  wanders  at  will  here  and  there,  moving  with 
ponderous  ease  and  grace.  In  the  flurry,  his  move- 
ments become  jerky  and  awkward,  and  his  course  is 
invariably  in  a  circle.  If  made  aware  of  the  pres- 
ence of  a  boat,  the  uninjured  whale  dives  to  avoid 
it.  The  flurried  whale  dashes  along  regardless  of 
what  may  be  in  his  path,  unconscious  of  all  about 
him.  The  unwounded  whale,  even  though  running 
at  his  best,  remains  but  a  moment  or  two  on  the 


Anatomy,  Physiology,  Hygiene    179 

surface,  and  then  settles  away  under  the  water. 
The  flurried  whale  is  never  for  an  instant  hidden 
from  sight.  The  one  is  a  harmless  animal,  anxious 
to  keep  out  of  your  way;  the  other  is  a  maddened 
brute,  fearing  and  caring  for  nothing. 

In  my  opinion,  when  based  upon  any  facts  at  all, 
many  of  the  stories  about  fighting  whales  have 
originated  from  contact  with  flurried  animals;  and 
it  is  at  least  doubtful  whether  even  old  sperm  bulls 
ever  voluntarily  court  a  conflict  with  men. 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

DUST  AND   NEGROES 

A  FEW  weeks  after  we  had  stowed  away  the  last 
of  our  oil,  robbed  of  all  its  brilliancy,  and 
stripped  even  of  straggling  rays,  the  sun  shone  in 
the  heavens  a  mere  crimson  ball ;  yet  the  sky  was 
cloudless.  As  it  hung  about  us,  still  and  lifeless,  the 
very  air  was  red.  The  decks,  the  rigging,  everything 
and  everybody,  were  coated  with  an  impalpable,  red- 
dish powder.    The  sea  itself  was  tinted  with  the  hue. 

"  What  's  this  stuff,  Jack  ?  "  I  inquired. 

M  I  '11  be  goll  darned  if  I  know.  Looks  an'  smells 
like  a  brickyard,  don't  it?  " 

Frank  was  standing  near  us  and  volunteered: 
"  The  ol*  man  says  it  's  dust  blown  off  the  great 
African  desert.  Yeh  know  we  hain't  more  'n  'bout 
four  hundr'd  miles  from  the  coast,  here." 

I  suggested  that  even  that  distance  was  a  good 
ways  for  dust  to  come  without  the  aid  of  a  strong 
wind,  and  that  we  were  more  likely  to  be  a  mile 
from  shore  than  so  many  hundred. 

i  So 


Dust  and  Negroes  181 

**  It  does  float  that  far,  though,"  Frank  insisted. 
"  Mr.  Bowman  was  say  in'  this  mornin'  that  the  last 
time  he  was  along  here  they  was  nigh  'bout  choked 
with  the  stuff  before  they  got  so  fur  in  as  we  are." 

After  that,  the  atmosphere  became  more  and 
more  charged  with  its  burden  of  dust,  until  the  sun 
no  longer  made  its  way  through,  even  as  a  ball  of 
fire.  If  there  was  any  wind,  it  was  confined  to  re- 
gions far  above  our  masts,  and  we  were  compelled 
to  submit  for  a  number  of  weeks  to  this  scourge  of 
dirt. 

On  voyages  such  as  ours,  the  sun  and  the  stars 
are  the  sole  guides  of  seamen,  and  we  were  soon 
lost  in  the  haze.  In  a  general  way  we  knew  where 
we  were,  but  more  precise  information  was  deemed 
desirable.  A  storm  was  liable  to  come  up  and  send 
us  upon  a  rock-bound  shore ;  or,  in  the  darkness  of 
some  night,  we  were  liable  to  drift  to  land.  It  was 
no  matter  for  immediate  or  much  worry,  but  we  all 
felt  that  more  definite  knowledge  of  our  whereabouts 
would  be  better. 

We  had  been  drifting  about  in  this  condition 
several  weeks,  when  a  craft  was  seen  through  the 
dust  a  short  distance  from  the  brig,  and  the  captain 
lowered  his  boat  to  secure  information  from  the 
strangers. 

M  We  don't  want  to  git  fur  away  in  this  stuff," 
the  captain  cautioned.     "  Git  away  lively,  boys." 


1 82  On  Board  a  Whaler 

So  we  bent  to  the  oars  with  might  and  main  until 
we  came  near  enough  to  make  out  a  long  canoe, 
filled  from  end  to  end  with  naked  black  men,  every 
one  of  whom  was  doing  his  utmost  to  paddle  away 
from  us. 

'*  Them  fellers  seem  a  bit  scared  —  guess  they 
think  we  're  after  some  on  'em  for  meat.  The' 
don't  look  's  if  the'  know  much;  but  we  '11  talk  to 
'em,  anyhow.  Put  me  'longside  of  'em,  boys," 
ordered  the  captain. 

A  few  more  long  strokes  brought  us  within  hail- 
ing distance  of  the  negroes. 

"  Aho-o-o-oy,"  the  captain  bawled. 

Except  that  the  paddles  in  the  canoe  were  plied 
with  greater  vigor  than  before,  there  was  no  re- 
sponse to  this  hail. 

M  Darn  'em,  the'  be  shy,  for  a  fact.  Put  me  up 
closter,  boys." 

For  a  minute,  our  boat  fairly  flew  over  the  waves, 
rapidly  overhauling  the  canoe,  and  the  captain  again 
shouted : 

"  Aho-o-o-o-oy.     Hullo,  there — savve " 

What  manner  of  instruction  in  English  was  about 
to  be  given  by  the  captain,  we  never  knew,  for,  as 
one  man,  those  darkies  stood  up  in  their  places,  and 
the  air  was  full  of  spears  flying  toward  our  boat. 

The  roll  of  the  canoe  probably  disconcerted  the 
aim  of  the  savages  or  some  of  us  must  have  been 


THE  AIR  WAS  FULL  OF  SPEARS  FLYING  TOWARD  OUR  BOAT. 


Dust  and  Negroes 


183 


hurt.  As  it  was,  the  missiles  all  fell  short  of  our 
boat,  but  the  captain  yelled  to  us : 

M  Stern  all,"  as  if  a  whale  had  been  there,  and  as 
we  backed  away  muttered  audibly:  "  Them  fellers 
would  n't  know  where  we  be  if  we  was  to  ask  'em, 
probably." 

The  negroes  once  more  took  to  their  paddles; 
and,  greatly  to  the  disgust  of  Jim  and  the  rest  of 
the  boys  in  the  boat,  we  headed  about  for  the  brig. 

"  Ef  I  'd  a  be'n  cap'n,  we  'd  a  tried  'em  a  whack," 
Jim  afterwards  confided  to  me.  "  The  blamed 
sneaks,  comin'  at  us  that  way,  when  we  was  goin' 
to  'em  civil.  Hang  it!  Dummed  if  it  did  n't  look 
as  if  we  was  afraid  on  'em,  and  was  runnin'  away !  " 


CHAPTER  XIX 

PIE— WATER— BANANAS 

IT  was  almost  midnight,  and,  the  truth  compels  the 
confession,  I  was  fast  asleep  leaning  over  the 
wheel  at  my  post,  for  there  was  nothing  better  to  be 
done  there,  when  some  one  whispered  in  my  ear: 

'*  Tom — Tom — say,  Tom,  don't  yeh  want  a  piece 
o'  pic  ?" 

Did  I  want  pie! 

I  had  not  the  least  doubt  but  that  it  was  nothing 
more  than  a  dream.  No  such  notion  could  enter 
the  brain  of  man  as  at  that  hour  and  place  to  offer 
me  pie.  Pie  no  longer  came  to  us  in  our  den.  The 
canned  mince  meat  and  the  dried  apples  and  peaches 
were  all  running  low,  and  the  cabin  table  must  never 
want  for  pie. 

From  my  babyhood  I  had  been  raised  on  pie.  Pie 
at  morn,  pie  at  noon,  pie  at  night.  Pie  —  year  in 
and  year  out,  every  day  of  every  month,  with  never 
a  Sunday  omitted,  from  the  time  I  was  old  enough 
to  chew  it  until  the  day  I  had  left  my  home,  I  had 

184 


Pie — Water — Bananas  1 85 

been  fed  on  pie,  and  now  for  weeks  I  had  been  con- 
stantly longing  for  pie,  pie,  pie, —  pie  that  never 
came. 

Of  course  it  could  be  nothing  but  a  dream. 

"  No!  I  don't  want  a  piece  of  pie,"  I  declared 
vehemently. 

"  Oh,  I  thought  mebbe  yeh  did!  Wa-al,  if  yeh 
don't  want  it,  I  guess  I  c'n  eat  it  myself,"  said 
Frank,  evidently  hurt. 

As  he  was  turning  away,  I  seized  his  arm,  now 
wide  awake.  "  Goodness,  Frank,  if  it  really  is  pie, 
don't  take  it  off,  but  give  it  to  me  quick." 

M  It  's  nothin'  only  dried  apple  —  don't  b'lieve  it 
'11  be  good  for  yeh,  anyhow,"  he  said,  tantalizing 
me. 

"  I  'd  eat  it  if  it  was  made  of  horse  feet,"  I  de- 
clared.    "  Here,  give  it  here,  won  't  yeh  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no!  'I  don't  want  a  piece  o'  pie,'  "  he 
mimicked.  "  Not  muchee,  yeh  don't.  I  kinder 
like  pie  myself,  jest  a  little  bit,"  he  continued,  rais- 
ing the  morsel  as  if  to  bite  it. 

I  snatched  it  greedily  from  his  hand.  "  Mince 
pie!  "  I  exclaimed,  under  my  breath.  "  And,  as  I 
live,  there  's  a  raisin  in  it." 

M  I  '11  have  to  report  yeh,  Tom,  for  usin'  disre- 
spectable  language  to  y'r  superior  officer.  I  said 
that  was  dried  apple  pie,  and  here  you  be  sayin' 
't  ain't.     If  that  ain't  mutiny,  what  d'  yeh  call  it  ? " 


1 86  On  Board  a  Whaler 

he  chuckled.  Then,  lowering  his  voice,  and  speak- 
ing more  seriously:  M  But  don't  yeh  blab,  not  even 
to  Jack.  Yeh  know  I  can't  swipe  victuals  for  all 
the  boys.  If  yeh  keep  y'r  mouth  shet,  and  don't 
dream  o'  y'r  grammer,  mebbe  it  '11  happen  ag'in 
some  time." 

Thus  was  a  kind  of  vandalism  instituted  on  board 
that  continued  all  the  time  I  remained  on  the  brig, 
either  not  discovered  or  winked  at  by  the  captain. 

"  Hope  we  '11  git  out  o'  this  some  time,"  said 
Frank  a  moment  later.  M  It  's  putty  slow  bisness, 
ain't  it.  Do  yeh  know,  it  's  six  weeks  this  blessed 
day  sense  we  've  b'en  without  a  whiff  o'  fresh  air. 
Why,  if  we  'd  only  saved  this  plaguey  dust,  we 
might  have  had  a  watermelon  patch  on  here  by  this 
time." 

M  Hullo,  what  's  this!"  A  cool  breeze  brushed 
my  face  softly,  and  the  foretopsail,  the  only  bit  of 
canvas  we  had  spread,  was  taken  aback. 

M  Make  sail  here,  boys,"  cried  Frank,  cheerfully. 

By  the  time  sail  had  been  made  and  the  brig 
headed  on  her  course  to  the  southwest,  the  bell 
tinkled  the  signal  for  calling  the  other  watch. 

As  we  awoke  the  next  morning  in  the  forecastle, 
the  water  was  rustling  on  the  planks  outside,  and 
an  occasional  shock  and  splashing  of  spray  told  us 
of  a  whitecapped  sea  and  stirring  wind.  In  the  east 
the  reddish-brown  haze  still  obscured  the  sun,  but 


Pie — Water — Bananas  187 

in  the  west  the  sky  was  clear.  The  waves  were 
again  blue  and  fray-tipped,  and  we  were  dashing 
along  at  the  best  gait  of  the  brig.  Once  more  we 
were  alive.  The  men,  the  brig,  the  water,  the  sky 
—  all  seemed  newly  awake.  The  dead,  warm  air, 
the  dull  red  sky,  the  slow,  sleepy  roll  had  given 
place  to  brightness  and  freedom.  Eyes  that  had 
been  listless  and  dreamy  shone  with  mirth  and  fire. 
A  good  stiff  breeze  had  come  and  our  hearts  danced 
with  the  brig.  I  do  not  know  how  long  it  was  after 
that  before  the  faint  cobweb  in  the  sky  marked  for 
us  the  outline  and  extent  of  another  island  ahead. 
Whenever  it  was,  it  brought  every  man  of  us  into 
the  rigging,  whooping  and  shouting  his  applause. 
The  wind  was  still  fresh  and  fair,  and  on  that  same 
day  we  dropped  anchor  close  to  shore. 

M  They  've  got  the  best  water  here  to  be  found 
on  the  coast,"  the  captain  told  us,  and  we  cheered 
once  more. 

M  Ye-ah,  an'  about  the  wust  fevers  goin',  too," 
the  mate  suggested  as  a  damper.  "  Guess  it  '11  be 
all  right  though,  if  we  don't  git  the  night  air,"  he 
added. 

We  had  come  to  anchor  in  a  mere  indentation  of 
the  shore  line  in  shoal  water  upon  a  sort  of  shelf 
making  out  from  the  island.  The  surf  could  be 
heard  from  our  deck  tumbling  in  upon  a  long,  white 
beach  opposite  the  brig,    while  on  the  left  great 


1 88  On  Board  a  Whaler 

sheets  of  foam  were  constantly  shooting  into  the 
sky,  and  a  booming  roar  suggested  the  rocky  ledge 
beneath  the  waves.  There  was  nothing  like  a  har- 
bor here  and  we  knew  the  ocean  swell  would  make 
it  difficult  for  us  to  land ;  but  there  were  trees,  and 
red,  blue,  yellow,  purple,  every  imaginable  shade 
and  hue  of  foliage  and  flower,  with  birds  fluttering 
in  mid-air.  There  was  also  the  sandy  beach  and  the 
bare  brown  earth.  It  was  land  —  a  land  wild  and 
rugged;  a  land  filled  with  deadly  miasms;  a  land 
peopled  with  naked  barbarians ;  a  land  inhabited  by 
venomous  reptiles  and  untamable  beasts;  a  land 
teeming  with  horrors  for  the  white  man,  blistered 
with  heat,  tormented  with  insects,  pestered  with 
vermin,  and  festering  with  garbage  —  but  withal, 
dear  to  our  eyes,  for  it  was  still  land. 

We  could  see  no  town,  but  a  group  of  negroes 
lounged  on  the  beach  awaiting  our  coming,  and  the 
captain  ordered  his  boat. 

Without  aid  from  shore,  though  the  beach  be 
smooth  like  the  one  we  were  now  approaching,  it 
requires  an  expert  to  land  a  boat  safely  through  the 
surf.  We  were  provided  with  both  the  expert  and 
the  aid,  however,  for  the  captain  was  experienced 
in  such  matters,  while  the  negroes  ran  out  knee-deep 
into  the  water  to  assist  us. 

When  within  a  few  feet  of  the  breaking  rollers, 
we  rested  to  await  the  proper  wave,  and  then,  lay- 


Pie — Water — Bananas  1 89 

ing  to  our  oars,  sent  the  boat  scurrying  in  on  to  the 
beach  between  two  rows  of  darkies  standing  there 
to  meet  us.  The  next  moment  they  had  carried 
the  boat  with  its  crew  still  in  place  high  and  dry  up 
the  shore. 

These  were  not  hostile  savages  such  as  we  had 
come  upon  higher  up  the  coast,  but  rollicking,  fun- 
loving  men,  whose  faces  beamed  with  good  humor 
as  they  bore  us  along  over  the  sand. 

As  we  leaped  out  of  the  boat,  my  eyes  caught  a 
glimpse  of  a  streamlet  trickling  and  gurgling  down 
the  steep  sides  of  a  bluff  near  by ;  and  within  five 
seconds,  oblivious  of  all  else,  my  face  was  buried  in 
a  pool  at  the  foot  of  the  bank. 

Here  was  water  that  needed  no  preparation  of 
mind  or  body  or  cup  for  its  use ;  a  beverage  that 
was  pure,  delicious,  odorless,  free  from  slime,  almost 
cold;  a  refreshing  draught  poured  out  upon  the 
sand  by  the  earth  for  all  men.  The  water  on  the 
brig  had  reached  the  vilest  stage  of  filthiness  short 
of  the  jelly  described  by  the  mate.  Its  odor  was 
abominable;  its  warmth  nauseating.  For  months 
we  had  held  our  breaths  while  we  gagged  and  gulped 
down  the  horrible  mixture.  Now,  I  held  my  breath 
and  drank  and  drank  and  drank,  then  caught  another 
breath  and  still  drank  on. 

"  My — my — My!  that  's  good,"  I  shouted,  after 
my  stomach  would  take  no  more. 


190  On  Board  a  Whaler 

"  Bet  y'r  boots,"  the  other  boys  all  agreed. 

Although  this  drink  was  of  nature's  own  brewing, 
the  captain  with  sufficient  reason  thought  it  best  to 
obtain  the  consent  of  some  person  in  authority  be- 
fore attempting  to  fill  his  casks  with  it.  Men  have 
in  all  ages  appropriated  Heaven's  bounties  to  them- 
selves to  the  exclusion  of  other  men,  and  these  bar- 
barians would  now  claim  the  right  to  tax  us  for  the 
privilege  of  taking  this  water. 

It  would  have  been  folly  for  us  to  resist  this  piece 
of  impudence,  and  the  captain  set  about  the  dis- 
covery of  the  potentate  to  whom  his  petition  must 
be  addressed. 

Like  Jack,  the  captain  was  sparing  of  his  English 
when  talking  with  foreigners. 

"  Me  want  water,"  he  announced. 

A  show  of  enamels  and  a  merry  twinkling  of  eyes 
made  up  the  sole  response. 

"  Me  take  'im  cask  shore  —  fill  up,"  he  resumed, 
pointing  first  to  the  pool  and  then  to  the  brig. 

At  this,  beckoning  to  us  to  follow,  one  of  the 
darkies  sidled  away  to  a  path  leading  up  from  the 
beach  into  the  bushes,  and,  with  a  host  of  islanders 
of  both  sexes  and  all  ages  and  conditions,  especially 
of  undress,  we  went  along  inland. 

A  short  walk  brought  us  to  the  town  in  which 
the  governing  chief  was  living.  It  was  a  small  col- 
lection of  huts,  maybe  thirty  of  them  in  the  huddle, 


Pie — Water  — Bananas  1 9 1 

each  shaped  liked  the  tepee  of  an  American  Indian, 
and  built  of  slight  poles  fastened  together  with 
grass  at  the  top. 

In  this  climate  no  fires  were  needed  in  the  huts, 
hence  no  holes  were  left  above  for  the  escape  of 
smoke.  A  small  triangular  opening  on  one  side 
served  as  a  door;  the  floors  were  of  smooth  beaten 
earth;  and,  except  for  a  rude  bench  upon  which 
was  tacked  a  piece  of  roughened  metal  for  grating 
roots,  there  was  no  furniture  —  not  even  a  bed  of 
straw  or  hay. 

The  dress  of  the  negroes  was  principally  notable 
for  its  absence.  The  greater  number  of  the  men 
wore  nothing  but  clouts.  A  few  had  dressed  them- 
selves for  this  occasion  in  fragments  of  hats,  coats, 
pantaloons,  and  even  shoes,  which  they  had  secured 
from  other  seamen  who  had  visited  the  island ;  but 
not  one  of  them  showed  up  with  a  complete  suit, 
while  several  could  muster  only  a  single  shoe.  The 
women  were  more  dressy.  Many  of  them  wore  a 
short  cotton  skirt  of  some  gaudy  color  suspended 
from  the  waist,  and  some  had  adorned  their  heads 
with  red  cotton  handkerchiefs  wound  on  as  turbans, 
while  a  few  added  sashes  made  by  tying  several 
handkerchiefs  together.  The  children  of  both  sexes 
were  all  stark  as  when  born. 

The  hut  of  the  chief  was  rather  more  pretentious 
than  those  of  his  subjects,  in  that  it  was  square, 


*92  On  Board  a  Whaler 

open  on  two  sides,  built  of  larger  poles,  with  a  flat 
roof,  and  rudely  thatched  with  dried  grass.  We 
found  him  under  this  hut,  lying  in  a  hammock  sus- 
pended from  the  posts  of  two  corners. 

As  we  approached  him,  the  great  man  seemed  to 
be  reading  a  book  —  a  primer  such  as  Yankee  chil- 
dren were  poring  over  at  home  that  very  day.  How 
the  book  came  to  be  there  we  never  knew.  It  was 
there,  however,  and  so  interested  was  this  mighty 
man  in  its  contents  as  he  held  it  wrong  side 
up  that  the  captain  was  obliged  to  repeat  his  "Ahem 
— ahem — AHEM!  "  and  follow  it  by  a  vigorous  blow- 
ing upon  his  nose  before  the  primer  so  much  as 
shook. 

At  last,  when  this  sham  of  royalty  had  been  suffi- 
ciently played,  the  chief  turned  a  pair  of  dull  black 
eyes  upon  us,  and,  grinning  hospitably  at  the  cap- 
tain, came  forward  to  welcome  him. 

This  chief  was  the  most  superbly  built  man  I  have 
ever  seen.  Fully  seven  feet  tall,  with  his  broad 
shoulders,  muscular  limbs,  shining  skin,  and  mag- 
nificent teeth,  but  for  the  dirt  that  hung  in  scales 
upon  him,  and  his  brutish,  unintelligent  face,  he 
would  have  looked  worthy  of  the  kingly  office.  As 
it  was,  standing  there  in  his  huge  proportions,  his 
woolly  hair  slightly  tinged  with  gray,  and  his  broad 
nose  and  thick  lips  giving  him  the  appearance  of  some 
great  ape,  he  was  far  from  attractive  to  look  upon. 


Pie — Water — Bananas  1 93 

Like  the  rest  of  the  tribe,  the  chief  was  dressed  in 
holiday  attire. 

"  He  's  full-rigged,  and  got  ev'ry  rag  set,"  Jack 
said  on  the  side. 

A  navy  cap  failed  to  cover  his  head ;  a  brass  cross 
glittered  at  the  end  of  a  string  on  his  naked  breast ;  a 
pair  of  pantaloons  threatened  to  burst  at  every  seam  ; 
and  ten  monstrous  toes  stuck  out  beyond  his  shoes. 
Otherwise  he  was  clothed  in  nothing  but  grease  and 
dirt. 

He  had  undoubtedly  rigged  himself  in  this  un- 
comfortable fashion  for  our  benefit;  and  the  play 
with  the  primer  was  part  of  the  performance  set  out 
by  him  on  the  coming  of  every  ship  to  his  land. 

M  Me  cap'n  ship.  Come  water.  Me  take  it  ?" 
the  captain  commenced. 

The  big  man  grinned  more  broadly  before  asking: 

"  How  much  give  ?  M 

"  What  want  ?" 

"Coat." 

The  captain  nodded  his  assent. 

"  Knife,"  the  chief  continued. 

M  Ye-ye-as,"  rather  doubtfully. 

Rope" — the  negro  extended  his  arms  wide  to 
show  the  length  required. 

The  captain  shook  his  head  dubiously,  but 
indicated    a    shorter    length.       M  No    more,"    he 

declared. 

13 


194  On  Board  a  Whaler 

Huh  ?  "  There  was  an  unpleasant  grin  on  the 
big  man's  face  now. 

The  captain  took  from  his  pocket  a  large  red 
handkerchief  and  offered  it  to  the  chief.  The  broad 
face  softened,  grew  bright,  and  the  character  of  the 
grin  was  changed. 

"  Uh — huh.     Good,"  the  king  announced. 

This  completed  the  bargaining  and  we  were  at 
liberty  to  help  ourselves  to  water. 

The  mates  had  been  left  on  board  with  orders  to 
break  out  and  bring  ashore  the  water  casks,  and, 
while  we  waited  for  them  to  come,  we  roamed  at 
will  on  the  island. 

There  was  little  to  entertain  us  in  the  village. 
Its  society  was  unattractive  to  most  of  us  and  the 
heat,  back  from  the  shore,  was  intolerable.  So  we 
soon  gathered  on  the  beach  again,  where  we  walked 
about  picking  up  shells  or  lolled  on  the  soft  sand, 
watching  the  antics  of  the  native  youngsters  in  the 
surf. 

It  is  a  dangerous  feat  for  a  man  to  make  his  way 
from  shore  out  through  the  ocean  surf,  but  the  boys 
and  not  a  few  of  the  girls  of  this  place  made  a  sport 
of  it,  plunging  in  at  the  proper  moment,  and  ap- 
pearing on  the  other  side  of  the  rollers  like  ducks. 

If  we  had  possessed  the  skill  to  pass  through  the 
surf  in  safety,  none  of  us  would  have  ventured, 
from  fear  of  the  sharks  we  knew  abounded  in  these 


THERE  WAS  AN  UNPLEASANT  GRIN  ON  THE  BIG  MAN'S  FACE. 


Pie — Water — Bananas  1 95 

waters.  But  the  negroes  showed  no  fear  of  attacks 
of  that  kind,  and  were  not  molested. 

In  the  meantime,  while  the  boys  and  girls  were 
shouting  and  laughing  upon  the  tops  of  the  waves, 
the  older  men  and  women  were  arriving  upon  the 
beach,  bringing  with  them  back-loads  of  fruits  — 
bananas,  cocoanuts,  limes,  and  some  others,  the 
names  for  which  escape  my  memory,  for  which  we 
traded  red,  yellow,  and  blue  cotton  handkerchiefs 
and  similar  trinkets,  previously  given  out  to  us  by 
the  captain  for  the  purpose. 

At  last- the  mates  came  with  their  casks,  and,  as- 
sisted by  the  negroes  who  swam  out  to  them,  got 
them  ashore  without  mishap.  Aided  by  so  many 
willing  hands,  we  soon  had  the  casks  filled  with  fresh 
water,  after  which,  having  secured  them  well  to- 
gether, we  rolled  them  back  down  the  beach.  Then 
we  passed  our  boats  through  the  surf  once  more 
and,  still  assisted  by  the  natives,  managed  to  tow 
the  casks  through  the  rollers  and  out  to  the  brig. 

We  had  spent  a  delightful  day,  and,  besides  add- 
ing to  the  happiness  of  many  a  female  heart  by  the 
bestowal  of  personal  adornments,  had  secured  a 
supply  of  excellent  water  and  considerable  fruit, 
at  a  total  expense  of  a  rough  sailor  coat,  a  common 
sheath  knife,  a  short  second-hand  warp,  and  a  few 
dozen  worthless  trinkets,  taking  away  with  us  the 
hearty  good-will  of  the  people  we  had  visited. 


196 


On  Board  a  Whaler 


As  the  sun  sank  behind  the  hills  of  the  island 
that  evening,  we  hove  the  anchor  aweigh,  and  the 
brig  turned  her  head  from  the  shore.  The  next 
morning  we  had  left  beyond  sight  the  little  island 
and  its  people  forever. 

The  island  we  thus  visited  was  one  of  a  group 
lying  off  the  coast  of  what  was  then  Senegambia,  a 
group  often  visited  at  that  time  by  whaling  vessels, 
but  not  set  down  upon  the  school  atlas  I  had  with 
me.  If  it  possessed  a  name,  it  was  not  mentioned 
among  us,  and  I  do  not  now  know  what  it  was. 


CHAPTER   XX 

THE   GIANT   SKATE 

FOR  several  weeks  after  leaving  the  island  last 
mentioned  we  cruised  in  its  vicinity.  The 
weather  was  charming,  whales  were  known  to  resort 
in  the  region,  and  there  was  no  good  reason  for 
hastening  on.  Indeed,  before  finally  starting  on 
another  long  cruise,  it  was  the  intention  of  the  cap- 
tain to  land  upon  at  least  one  more  island  of  the 
group. 

On  the  third  day  out  from  the  island,  the  glare  of 
the  sun  becoming  painful  to  my  eyes,  I  cast  them 
down  nearer  the  brig  than  was  our  custom,  when 
they  were  riveted  upon  an  enormous  fish  moving  to- 
ward us  immediately  under  the  surface  of  the  waves. 

"  What  in  blazes  is  that  ?"  I  inquired  of  Jim, 
pointing  to  it. 

*'  The  's  a  big  sea  devil  right  aboard  of  us,"  Jim 
shouted  to  the  captain  below  us. 

"  Wa-al,  what  of  it  ?  We  don't  want  nuthin'  o' 
him,"  was  the  curt  reply,  as  the  captain  continued 

197 


198  On  Board  a  Whaler 

his  beat,  scarcely  deigning  to  look  toward  the 
fish. 

M  May  n't  I  lower  for  'm,  suh  ?  "  Jim  called, 
eagerly. 

"  Not  by  a  gol  darn  sight,"  was  the  prompt  rebuff. 

So  we  were  obliged  to  stand  and  look  down  upon 
the  creature,  while  he  swam  rapidly  up  to  the  brig, 
stopped  in  evident  surprise  at  the  obstruction  in  his 
pathway,  sheered  and  crossed  our  bow  so  close  to 
us  that  a  man  might  easily  have  dropped  from  the 
bowsprit  on  to  his  broad  back. 

In  shape  he  was  much  like  the  ace  of  diamonds, 
but  in  color  he  was  a  glossy  coal  black,  except  as 
his  thin  side  fins,  curling  with  his  movements  or 
twisted  up  by  the  sea,  exposed  glimpses  of  gleaming 
white.  Two  eyes,  each  as  large  as  an  ordinary 
dinner-plate,  were  set  six  feet  or  more  apart  on  the 
top  of  his  pointed  head,  and  stared  coldly  at  us 
while  he  deliberately  inspected  the  brig.  A  huge 
fin-like  projection  on  each  side  of  his  nose  gave  an 
odd  appearance  to  that  end  of  the  fish,  while  a  nar- 
row tail  ending  in  a  point  added  something  like  fif- 
teen feet  to  his  total  length.  Otherwise  he  looked 
like  a  charcoal  diamond  having  nearly  twenty  feet 
of  space  between  his  points  all  the  way  round. 

Aside  from  an  easy  undulatory  movement  of  his 
tail,  the  creature  seemed  to  glide  smoothly  along 
without  special  effort,  rising  and  falling  upon  each 


The  Giant  Skate  199 

wave.  He  swam  rather  rapidly  until  he  saw  the 
vessel,  when  he  paused  to  survey  us,  resuming  his 
pace  without  apparent  fear  of  being  attacked.  It 
would  have  been  easy  enough  for  us  to  have  over- 
taken him  in  our  boats,  and  the  most  of  us  were 
keenly  disappointed  upon  the  refusal  of  the  captain 
to  allow  Jim  to  go  down. 

In  the  torrid  zone  the  air  becomes  stuffy  and  hot 
below  decks,  and  both  officers  and  men  prefer  the 
open  deck,  where  much  of  their  time  in  the  even- 
ings is  spent  telling  stories  under  the  stars.  Our 
captain  seldom  joined  in  general  conversations,  and 
more  rarely  still  joined  in  telling  yarns,  although  he 
liked  to  listen  to  them ;  but  the  occurrences  of  the 
afternoon  had  stirred  up  an  old  recollection  within 
him,  and  that  night  he  commenced  by  asking  Jim: 

"  Did  yeh  ever  tackle  one  o'  them  fellers  we  saw 
to-day  ? " 

M  No,  but  I  'd  a  blamed  well  liked  to  've  done  it, 
though,"  said  Jim,  with  a  spice  of  bitterness  in  his 
tone. 

As  was  his  habit  when  ill-pleased,  the  captain 
gripped  his  lips  hard  and  sat  in  silence  for  some 
minutes,  before  beginning  again: 

"  The  time  was  when  I  felt  that  way  myself. 
But,  Jim,  we  have  n't  any  more  men,  nor  any  more 
boats,  than  we  need  aboard  here;  and  I  was  n't 
quite  ready  to  spare  any  of  'em  to-day.     /  did  set 


2oo  On  Board  a  Whaler 

in  a  boat  that  tackled  one  of  them  fellers  one  time, 
and  I  hain't  had  no  hankerin'  after  'em  sence." 

The  captain  stretched  himself  upon  the  rail,  with 
one  arm  resting  over  the  gunwale  of  his  boat;  Mr. 
Bowman  laid  himself  out  on  the  raised  house  over 
the  cabin  and  Jim  composed  himself  on  a  coil  of 
rope,  and  sat  with  his  knees  clasped  between  his 
palms,  ready  for  the  story.  All  three  of  them  lit  their 
pipes,  after  which  I  stood  at  the  wheel  and  listened. 

"  The  secont  big  thing  I  ever  saw  at  sea  was  one 
o'  them  old  sea  devils,  and,  more  by  accident  than  any 
other  way,  we  got  into  a  great  scrape  with  'im ;  but 
we  did  n't  git  out  that  way,  not  by  a  dummed  sight. 

"  We  'd  been  cruisin'  'round  the  Western  Islands 
quite  a  spell,  without  seein'  nuthin'  bigger  'n  a  por- 
pus,  when  one  day  we  raised  a  school  o'  cows,  like 
the  one  we  run  amongst  t'  other  day — the  first  sperm 
whales  I  ever  set  eyes  on.  We  got  in  amongst  'em 
putty  handy,  and  the  mate  struck  one  on  'em.  I 
was  pullin'  the  after  oar  in  the  oV  man's  boat 
then " 

4<  Do  yeh  hear  that,  Tom  —  do  yeh  hear  that  ?  " 
interrupted  Mr.  Bowman.  "  If  yeh  stick  to  it, 
yeh  '11  git  to  head  a  boat  yit." 

The  captain  smiled  his  approval  and  went  on  with 
his  story : 

"  Wa-al,  anyway,  that  was  what  I  was  doing  in 
them  days  —  pullin'  the  after  oar. 


The  Giant  Skate  201 

**  Soon  's  the  mate  got  fast,  ev'ry  blamed  fluke 
was  h'isted,  and  there  we  sot  waitin'  for  'em  to 
come  up  ag'in. 

"  We  must  have  set  there  ten  minutes  —  mebbe 
longer  —  when  all  to  once  there  was  black  skin 
showin'  right  'longside  the  boat  so  clost  you  could 
have  touched  it  with  y'r  hand. 

11  The  boat-steerer — guess  you  know  'im,  Macy — 
't  was  old  Joe  Taber.  He  lived  up  your  way.  Got 
to  be  master  afterwards,  and  is  livin'  on  'is  int'rest, 
I  've  been  told.     Guess  yeh  know  'im,  don't  yeh  ?  " 

'*  Ye-ah.  Sailed  with  him  six  year  —  d'oughter 
know  'im,"  responded  Mr.  Bowman. 

"  Wa-al,  anyway,  when  Joe  saw  that  black  skin 
he  did  n't  wait  for  no  orders,  but  ups  and  lets  both 
irons  go  chug  to  the  poles.  He  wa'n't  no  hand  to 
wait  for  orders,  Joe  wa'n't ;  and  when  he  thought  he 
was  nigh  enough  to  a  whale  to  hit  'im,  he  always 
slammed  away  for  keeps.  If  he  was  goin'  to  hit  a 
man,  yeh  never  heard  a  word  out  of  him,  but  the 
fust  thing  that  feller  knew  he  got  it  smack  in  the 
face.  So  jest  as  soon  as  he  saw  that  skin,  kerchug 
went  both  irons  into  it,  without  any  fuss. 

"  Wa-al,  now!  mebbe  yeh  think  we  wa'n't  in  for 
some  fun  in  about  a  jiffy,  hey !  'T  wa'  n't  a  secont 
after  them  irons  had  gone  afore  the  old  man 
caught  on  to  what  Joe  had  done,  and  he  com- 
menced cussin'  a  livin'  streak  at  Joe  for  tanglin'  us 


202  On  Board  a  Whaler 

up  with  an  old  skate  fish  right  amongst  a  lot  o' 
whales. 

M  Now  Joe  knew  a  hanged  sight  better  'n  the  old 
man  did  jest  what  was  likely  to  come  out  of  the 
mess — he  'd  tackled  one  o'  the  critters  afore,  and 
the  old  man  had  n't.  '  Do  your  jawin'  later,  cap'n,' 
says  Joe,  sharp  like.  '  If  yeh  want  to  live  any 
longer,  look  after  y'r  boat  jest  now.' 

'*  The  old  man's  mouth  set  to  twitchin',  but  that 
wa'  n't  no  time  for  chin  music,  and  he  saw  't  wa'  n't. 
That  old  sea  devil  was  spread  out  there  right  along- 
side of  us,  and  the  minute  them  irons  sank  into  'im 
he  commenced  slidin'  in  under  the  boat,  and  before 
the  old  man  could  git  any  sort  of  swing  on  his  oar, 
the  blamed  thing  was  stickin'  out  seven  or  eight 
foot  on  both  sides,  plum  under  us. 

"  That  wa'  n't  so  much  to  worry  about,  mebbe, 
for  yeh  know  they  're  most  as  flat  as  a  board,  and 
Joe  was  jabbin'  his  lance  down  through  'im  ev'ry 
which  way ;  but  the  old  devil  give  a  kind  o'  flop, 
all  to  once,  and  quicker  'n  two  shakes  of  a  lamb's 
tail  one  o'  them  danged  corners  come  flappin'  in 
over  the  gun'ale  and  knocked  the  life  clean  out  of 
a  Pochugee  right  back  o'  me,  and  come  mighty 
clost  to  upsettin'  us  right  there. 

"  'T  wa'  n't  gittin'  a  mite  funny  about  that  time 
for  me,  nuther.  Yeh  see  that  Pochugee  was  our 
tub  oarsman  and  was  settin'  right  behind  me  when 


The  Giant  Skate  203 

the  critter  come  kerflummux  on  to  'im,  and  the 
darned  hide  flopped  and  slid  down  on  the  back  of 
my  neck  —  uh-uh-ugh-huh  !  but  it  did  feel  so 
dummed  co-o-o-old  and  slimy !  Um-m-m-m-m, 
jiminy  cats!  I  hain't  what  you  can  call  narvous, 
gen'rally  speakin',  but  yeh  c'n  bet  I  felt  shaky 
enough  right  then. 

"  The  old  man  got  his  oar  in  an'  swung  us  off, 
but  then  we  got  a  clip  from  the  tail  o'  the  critter, 
o'  suthin',  that  mighty  near  stood  us  end  ways — 
ev'ry  last  man  in  the  boat  was  jest  tumbled  helter- 
skelter  down  inter  the  stern  sheets,  all  in  a  bunch. 

"  About  that  time  the  second  mate  got  down  to 
us.  He  'd  seen  we  was  in  some  trouble  and  come 
to  help  us  out  of  it.  The  fust  thing  he  knew  that 
old  devil  was  headed  lickity  split  for  his  boat,  and 
he  did  n't  git  out  of  the  way  a  mite  too  sudden, 
nuther.  He  was  so  thunderin'  big  an'  clumsy — 
that  old  skate  was — that  he  could  n't  turn  very 
quick — not  so  quick  as  we  could  turn  the  boats,  but 
he  had  the  all-firedest  way  of  comin'  at  yeh  crab 
fashion  that  yeh  ever  did  see.  As  A'nt  Sally  used 
to  say,  it  was  mighty  tryin'  to  the  narves,  sure. 

"  When  he  missed  the  second  mate,  the  critter 
turned  and  come  for  tis  ag'in.  Joe  sent  two  lances 
plum  through  'im  as  he  come,  but  they  did  n't  stop 
him  a  bit — he  did  n't  seem  to  mind  them  any,  and 
he  kept   on   comin'  jest  the  same.     The  old  man 


204  On  Board  a  Whaler 

worked  his  steerin'  oar  lively,  but  't  was  nip  and 
tuck — the  critter  missed  us  by  jest  a  scratch  and 
that  was  all — he  was  mighty  nigh  to  hippin'  us  that 
time. 

"  We  'd  probably  made  the  old  feller  sick  still, 
if  it  had  n't  been  that  the  old  man  swung  his  oar 
out  to  swing  the  boat  jest  as  the  critter  was  slidin' 
by.  Yeh  know  them  fellers  have  a  mouth  on  'em 
that  opens  somewhere  four  or  five  foot  back  and 
under  their  noses  —  opens  right  square  crossways, 
they  say — never  saw  one  myself — must  be  an  old 
welter  of  a  mouth,  too.  Anyhow,  jest  as  he  was 
slidin'  past,  the  old  man  stuck  his  oar  right  in  the 
way  o'  that  nose,  and  the  critter  slid  over  and 
grabbed  it  and  yanked  it  clean  off  the  boat — jest 
ripped  the  whole  plaguey  business  square  off,  and 
sent  the  old  man  flyin'  in  the  air  right  atop  o'  the 
old  devil,  and  there  we  was." 

As  the  story  had  proceeded,  the  voice  of  the  cap- 
tain had  become  louder  and  louder,  and  now  he  left 
the  rail  on  which  he  had  been  lying,  and  paced 
rapidly  back  and  forth  on  the  deck  as  he  continued : 

M  In  another  second  the  old  skate  was  after  us 
ag'in,  and  there  was  no  such  thing  as  dodgin'  that 
time.  We  saw  we  'd  got  to  meet  him  fair,  and  no 
gittin'  out  of  it. 

"  Joe  tossed  a  boat-spade  to  me  and  told  the 
bow  oarsman  to  git  a  lance — the  midship  oarsman 


The  Giant  Skate  205 

had  one  already;  and  so  we  stood  there  waitin'  for 
that  thing  to  come  at  us.  He  did  n't  keep  us  long 
waitin'  for  'im,  nuther.  You  'd  oughter  seen  them 
dummed  eyes  of  his  'n.  By  ginger,  they  jest  para- 
lyzed me  for  a  second,  'til  my  wits  got  to  runnin' 
ag'in.  They  was  bigger  'n  dinner-plates  and  the  cold- 
est, starin'est,  dumdest  things  to  look  into  yeh  ever 
saw — they  beat  any  snake's  eyes  yeh  ever  heard  tell 
of.     Yeh  jest  could  n't  keep  y'r  own  eyes  off  of  'em. 

"  Wa-al,  he  lifted  that  peeked  nose  of  his  clean 
above  the  water  and  made  a  bee-line  for  our  boat. 
We  waited  'til  he  was  within  ten  foot  of  us,  and 
then  Joe  yells: 

Put  'is  daylights  out,  boys!  ' 

"  At  that,  we  all  let  drive  with  what  we  had  at 
one  o'  them  skylights,  and  the  chances  are  we  all 
hands  hit  what  we  aimed  at ;  but  we  was  too  late  to 
stop  the  critter's  headway,  and  on  he  come.  In 
less  time  than  it  takes  to  think,  that  boat  was  goin' 
over,  and  the  next  minute  I  felt  that  old  devil 
rubbin'  along  right  over  me,  and  expected  to  be 
crunched  in  that  durned  mouth  o'  his  'n,  as  much 
as  ever  I  looked  for  anything  in  my  life.  By 
George,  I  thought  my  time  had  come  sure  enough ! 
I  never  thought  I  'd  see  daylight  ag'in." 

Here  the  captain  halted  and  wiped  his  forehead. 
By  gum,  it  makes  me  sweat  now,  jest  thinkin' 
about  it! 


206  On  Board  a  Whaler 

"  Wa-al,  while  I  was  waitin'  to  feel  myself  swal- 
lered  right  there,  the  thing  slipped  along  off  of  me, 
and  up  I  come,  and  the  boys  hauled  me  in  aboard 
the  second  mate's  boat. 

"  I  dunno  whether  we  killed  the  thing  or  not ;  but 
that  was  the  last  we  saw  of  him — probably  he  'd  had 
enough  of  us  and  went  about  his  business,  and  I  hope 
he  went  it  blind.  Anyway,  when  we  come  to  turn 
our  boat  over  right  side  up,  ev'ry  bit  of  the  whale 
line  was  gone  out  of  it,  and  we  never  found  the  buoy. 
If  he  had  been  dead,  pretty  likely  that  buoy  would 
have  been  bobbing  'round  there  somewheres  near 
us.     It  wa'  n't,  so  I  guess  he  must  have  carried  it  off. 

"  The  Pochugee  sunk  when  the  boat  upset,  so  we 
did  n't  have  to  bury  him;  and  the  ol'  man  come 
out  all  right,  outside  of  a  sprained  wrist.  All  told, 
we  thought  we  come  out  of  it  putty  slick  —  we  was 
mighty  lucky  it  wa'  n't  no  wuss. 

"Now,  mebbe  yeh  can  understand  why  I  wa'n't  anx- 
ious to  let  yeh  go  after  that  one  this  afternoon,  Jim," 
the  captain  concluded,  turning  upon  hisboat-steerer. 

'•  That  's  all  right,  suh,"  Jim  replied,  shrugging 
his  shoulders,  "  but  I  jest  wish  yeh  'd  let  me  try 
'im  once,  all  the  same." 

The  captain  wheeled  with  an  impatient  gesture 
and  went  down  into  the  cabin,  sending  back  at  Jim 
a  parting  shot: 

"  Nothin'  but  a  whalin'  '11  ever  give  a  fool  sense." 


IN  LESS  TIME  THAN   IT  TAKES  TO  THINK  THE  BOAT  WAS  GOIN'  OVER." 


CHAPTER  XXI 
FRENCH   PETE 

A  FEW  days  later  land  was  sighted  over  the 
bow.  It  was  a  small,  low  island  of  the  same 
group  as  the  one  we  had  visited  for  water,  and 
some  hours  afterwards  we  dropped  anchor  within  a 
snug  cove  opposite  a  rude  wooden  wharf,  beside 
which  was  moored  a  small  sloop  and  several  dugout 
canoes.  A  frame  dwelling-house,  the  first  sign  of 
civilization  we  had  seen  since  leaving  Teneriffe  be- 
hind us,  stood  upon  a  knoll  overlooking  the  water. 

The  captain  ordered  his  boat  lowered  at  once  and 
we  rowed  him  to  the  wharf.  A  white  man  met  us 
on  the  pier,  who  hailed  us  first  in  French,  but  im- 
mediately changed  to  English,  which  he  spoke 
fluently,  with  a  peculiar  accent,  marked  particularly 
by  a  tendency  to  convert  our  "  w  "  into  "  v,"  and 
to  emphasize  the  sound  of  "  s." 

M  I  am  very  glad  to  see  ze  gentlemen  and  to  vel- 
come  zem  to  my  island.  It  vill  afford  me  much 
pleazure  to  ezcort  you  to  ze  house,  gentlemen,"  he 

207 


208  On  Board  a  Whaler 

said,  speaking  the  words  at  the  rate  of  three  hun- 
dred a  minute,  and  accompanying  them  by  a 
profusion  of  rapid  gesticulations  such  as  only  a 
Frenchman  can  make  without  seeming  ridiculous. 
In  him  it  was  natural  and  sincere — just  what  was  to 
be  expected  of  him.  Any  other  mode  of  greeting 
would  have  been  disappointing  to  us. 

"How  are  yeh,  Pete!"  shouted  the  captain, 
grasping  the  Frenchman's  extended  hand,  and 
working  it  like  a  pump-handle.  "  How  are  yeh, 
old  boy  ?  By  gum !  yeh  don't  look  a  day  older  'n 
yeh  did  the  last  time  I  was  here — a  little  gray, 
mebbe,  but  not  a  day  older  'n  yeh  was  then." 

Pete  suffered  his  hand  to  be  squeezed  and  his  arm 
to  be  pumped  while  he  scanned  the  captain's  face 
curiously  for  a  minute.  But,  finding  no  clue  to  a 
solution  of  his  difficulty  there,  he  was  obliged  pres- 
ently to  confess: 

"  I  am  sure  it  affords  me  ze  greatest  pleazure,  but 
vill  it  be  impertinent  if  I  inquire  ven  it  vas  I  had  ze 
honor  to  make  zis  acquaintance  ? " 

M  Not  a  bit  of  it,  old  man — not  a  bit  of  it,"  the 
captain  declared,  still  pumping  at  the  arm.  "  Not 
a  bit.  No  wonder  yeh  did  n't  know  me.  Why,  if 
't  was  a  minute,  it  was  twenty  year  sense  you  set 
eyes  on  me.  You  was  raisin'  that  house — come  to 
look  at  it,  though,  I  guess  't  wa'  n't  that  one  either 
— but  you  was  raisin'  some  house,  and  we  helped 


French  Pete  209 

yeh  put  the  frame  up.  Don't  yeh  r'member  me, 
now  ?  " 

"  To  be  sure,  so  it  vas — to  be  sure,  to  be  sure. 
It  all  comes  back  to  me.  To  be  sure,  to  be  sure. 
We  had  some  great  sport  that  day  —  to  be  sure,  to 
be  sure.  But  you  must  have  been  very  young 
then,  sir  ? " 

"  Wa-al,  for  a  fact,  I  wa'  n't  cap'n  then,  but  I  'd 
got  fur  enough  along  to  be  steerin'  a  boat,  though," 
the  captain  explained. 

14  Pardon  me — it  is  so  very  long  ago,  you  vill 
pardon  me  if  I  do  not  remember  it." 

Then  the  Frenchman  took  us  all  in  with  one 
graceful  sweep. 

"  You  are  velcome  to  ze  island,  gentlemen." 

The  mere  words  fail  to  convey  the  warmth  of 
feeling  they  aroused.  We  felt  that  all  there  was  on 
the  island  was  at  our  disposal — that  our  coming  was 
in  reality  a  joyous  thing  to  this  man. 

The  captain,  as  well  as  the  rest  of  us,  was  visibly 
affected  by  the  kindness  of  our  reception,  although 
his  words  seemed  rude  and  inappropriate. 

"  By  gum,  Pete,  you  've  made  quite  a  place  here 
sense  I  was  'round,  hain't  yeh  ?  "  he  said. 

The  "  place  "  consisted  of  a  group  of  banana 
trees,  a  grove  of  cocoanuts,  an  open  field  of  yams 
and  sweet  potatoes,  and  the  house,  of  which  more 
will  be  said. 


210  On  Board  a  Whaler 

Pete  made  no  reply  to  the  remark  of  the  captain, 
but  again  turned  to  the  rest  of  us.  He  was  cer- 
tainly a  genuine  democrat,  for  of  all  the  men  we 
met  on  the  voyage,  whether  among  barbarians  or 
civilized  people,  he  alone  refused  to  make  any  dis- 
tinction between  officers  and  common  sailors.  To 
him  we  were  all  his  fellows,  and  he  took  each  of  us 
by  the  hand  there  on  the  pier  with  the  same  polite 
suavity  and  as  much  apparent  respect  as  he  had 
taken  the  hand  of  the  master,  and  ended  by  a  gen- 
eral invitation  for  us  to  accompany  the  captain  with 
him  to  the  house  to  be  presented  to  the  family 
there. 

If  we  had  then  left  the  island  there  would  have 
been  nothing  of  our  visit  to  relate  other  than  pleas- 
ant recollections;  but,  if  the  tale  is  to  be  kept  to 
the  truth,  the  character  so  far  given  to  Pete  must 
be  somewhat  lowered.  So  far  as  nature  makes  or 
maintains  one,  this  Frenchman  was  undoubtedly  an 
affable  gentleman ;  but  long  years  of  association 
with  a  degraded  race  had  made  him  oblivious  to 
many  things  that  left  their  impressions  on  me. 

Accepting  the  invitation  extended  to  us,  we  all 
went  to  the  house,  the  captain  and  Pete  chatting 
and  laughing  gaily  together  in  advance,  and  we — 
three  foremast  hands — following  behind. 

As  it  is  with  stage  costumes,  so  it  was  with  this 
house — distant  inspection  would  have  been  better. 


French  Pete  211 

As  it  stood  elevated  above  the  field  and  silhouetted 
on  the  sky,  when  seen  from  the  brig  the  house  was 
quite  imposing.  It  covered  a  good  deal  of  ground, 
and  looked  to  be  much  higher  than  it  really  was. 
It  was  in  truth  a  queer  bundle  of  odd  additions  to 
what  had  been  originally  a  small,  square,  one-story 
shack.  A  long,  roofed  porch,  raised  four  or  five 
feet  above  the  ground  and  supported  by  six  hewn 
posts,  stood  in  front  of  the  original  house.  This 
porch  was  reached  by  ascending  six  or  seven  rickety 
wooden  steps.  A  pig-pen  in  which  were  a  few 
razor-backed  hogs  was  under  one  end  of  the  porch, 
and  under  the  other  end  was  a  lattice-worked  hen- 
coop. 

A  dozen  or  more  young  pigs  ran  squealing  from 
the  path  as  we  marched  up  to  the  steps;  and  Pete 
found  it  necessary  to  H  shoo  "  some  chickens  from 
the  porch  before  asking  us  to  be  seated.  All  about, 
the  premises  were  dirty,  and  the  combination  of 
odors  was  quite  as  remarkable  and  intolerable  as 
that  of  our  own  forecastle  on  the  brig. 

On  the  way  from  the  pier  we  had  been  surrounded 
by  naked  children  of  all  shades  of  coloring  ranging 
from  coal  black  to  cream  white.  There  were  also  a 
number  of  young  men  and  girls  standing  about  in 
front  of  the  house  who  exhibited  an  equal  variety 
of  color,  but  a  less  complete  state  of  undress;  be- 
sides a  good  many  older  men  and  women  of  pure 


212  On  Board  a  Whaler 

African  blood.  All  displayed  faultless  teeth,  and 
nearly  all  greeted  us  with  shining,  mirthful  eyes 
and  grinning  mouths.  We  were  as  surely  objects 
of  curiosity  to  these  people  as  they  were  to  us,  but 
there  was  a  disposition  on  both  sides  to  friendliness 
that  relieved  the  situation  of  all  embarrassment. 

The  captain  and  Pete  betook  themselves  to  a 
bench  at  one  end  of  the  porch,  while  we  seated 
ourselves  upon  the  steps  leading  up  from  the 
ground,  not  that  we  would  not  have  been  free  to 
follow  Pete,  but  we  stood  in  respectful  awe  of  our 
master. 

A  moment  later  a  door  in  the  centre  of  the  build- 
ing was  flung  open  upon  the  porch,  and,  with  a 
queer,  good-natured  cackle,  Pete's  wife  advanced 
and  shook  hands  with  the  captain ;  then  she  came 
to  us,  and  repeating  the  cackle,  shook  each  of  us 
cordially  by  the  hand. 

She  was  very  large  and  very  fat,  and  dressed — 
well,  she  was  scarcely  dressed  at  all.  A  red  ban- 
dana encircled  her  woolly  head ;  a  short  skirt,  the 
color  of  which  was  lost  in  dirt,  hung  from  the  waist 
nearly  down  to  her  knees  —  that  was  all.  It  was  a 
costume  eminently  suited  to  the  weather  and  to  the 
society  in  which  she  moved,  but  it  was  not  becoming 
to  a  person  of  her  size,  condition,  form,  and  make- 
up. Her  lips  were  thick  and  prominent,  her  nose 
broad  and  flat,  her  skin  shone  with  accumulated 


French  Pete  213 

grease,  and  she  exaled  the  odor  of  blended  garlic 
and  Africa.  In  color,  she  was  a  rather  light 
mahogany. 

Pete  spoke  some  unintelligible  words  to  her,  and 
she  went  back  into  the  house  and  presently  returned 
with  a  tin  pan  full  of  milk,  and  a  cocoanut  dipper. 
The  captain  drank  off  a  dipperful  of  milk  eagerly 
— too  eagerly,  it  seemed  to  me.  Then  the  woman 
refilled  the  dipper  and  passed  it  to  each  of  us  in 
turn  on  the  steps. 

As  my  turn  came  to  drink,  a  sudden  nausea  over- 
whelmed me,  and  I  felt  the  cold  perspiration 
breaking  out  upon  my  forehead.  It  was  a  most 
uncomfortable  situation,  but  one  that  could  not  be 
helped. 

Pete,  whose  quick,  nervous,  comprehensive 
glances  were  everywhere  at  once,  sprang  to  my  side. 

"  The  gentleman  is  zeek,"  he  declared. 

"  I — I  guess — I  '11  be — be — all  right — in — in  a — 
in  a  minute,"  I  gasped  between  gulps. 

The  captain  kindly  came  to  my  assistance  then. 
M  He  's  got  a  mighty  weak  stomach.  Guess  she 
did  n't  hit  'im  quite  right.  He  was  sick  a  long 
time  aboard.  Fact  is  he  come  putty  nigh  to  rilin' 
me  some.  If  you  've  got  some  of  that — you  know 
— some  o'  that  stuff  yeh  fixed  us  off  with.  If  yeh 
had  jest  a  leetle  of  that  to  give  him,  he  'd  come 
round  ag'in,  prob'bly." 


214  On  Board  a  Whaler 

Pete  took  no  notice  of  the  apparent  slur  upon  his 
wife,  nor  did  she.  He  smiled  most  affably  as  he 
said : 

"  Ah  !  To  be  sure — to  be  sure.  He  zall  haf  it. 
I  think  it  vill  make  him  feel  much  better.  To  be 
sure — to  be  sure." 

He  spoke  to  one  of  the  younger  women  standing 
in  the  group  near  the  foot  of  the  steps,  and  a  few 
minutes  afterwards  she  offered  me  a  drink  from 
another  dipper.  This  smelled  promisingly,  and 
was  drained  greedily  enough.  Next  to  the  water 
at  the  spring  on  the  other  island,  it  proved  the  most 
satisfying  draught  of  my  life.  It  was  cool,  fragrant, 
aromatic,  and  delicious  to  taste,  but  as  alcoholic  as 
most  wines.  Had  I  understood  at  the  time  it  was 
offered  that  it  was  an  intoxicating  drink,  nothing 
could  have  induced  me  to  put  it  to  my  lips,  for  I 
had  been  trained  to  teetotalism  from  the  cradle; 
but  I  knew  only  the  pleasure  it  brought  to  my 
palate  and  the  relief  it  brought  from  the  nausea. 
The  dipper  must  have  contained  half  a  pint,  and  I 
drank  its  contents  to  the  last  drop  without  taking 
breath. 

Up  to  that  moment  ship  coffee  had  been  my  most 
stimulating  beverage,  and  the  effect  of  the  fer- 
mented sap  upon  me  was  marked  and  instantaneous. 
I  found  myself  at  once  not  only  returning  the  sym- 
pathizing smiles  of  the  girl  who  had  given  me  the 


French  Pete  215 

drink,  but  of  the  hostess  who  had  sickened  me. 
Everything  and  everybody  seemed  suddenly  trans- 
formed. The  disgustingly  filthy  house  and  porch 
was  a  comfortable  house  and  piazza;  the  dark, 
greasy  boys  and  girls  had  become  delightfully  com- 
panionable. My  sickness  had  gone,  and  I  was 
ravenously  hungry.  I  was  not  in  fact  very  drunk, 
but  was  nearer  so  than  I  have  ever  been  since. 

In  view  of  all  the  circumstances,  I  have  never 
come  to  regret  the  mishap  which  thus  befell  me, 
although  I  have  ever  since  avoided  such  drinks. 
The  visit  to  that  island  would  have  been  a  wretched 
experience  to  me  without  it.  As  it  was,  the  rest  of 
the  day  was  spent  in  a  wild,  hilarious  romp,  and  I 
went  on  board  feeling  better  for  the  fun. 

This  Frenchman  had  been  on  that  island  upwards 
of  twenty  years,  and  for  all  practical  purposes  was 
its  ruler.  So  far  as  he  knew,  no  other  white  man 
lived  nearer  to  him  than  a  hundred  miles;  and  no 
one  had  ever  disputed  his  right  to  hold  the  land. 
Once  every  year  he  took  a  sloop  load  of  yams  and 
sweet  potatoes  several  hundred  miles  to  Sierra 
Leone,  and  brought  back  with  him  such  things  as 
his  family  most  needed.  Besides  his  own  children, 
who  hovered  about  us  in  swarms,  there  were  more 
than  a  hundred  natives  of  the  island,  all  of  whom 
cheerfully  submitted  to  his  control  and  aided  in 
cultivating  his  crops.     He  seemed  contented  with 


216  On  Board  a  Whaler 

his  lot  and  happier  than  most  wealthy  men  who 
reside  in  more  favored  communities. 

At  the  request  of  our  host,  the  captain  had  sent 
for  the  rest  of  the  crew  to  come  ashore;  and,  just 
before  dark,  we  gathered  at  the  wharf  to  take  our 
leave.  The  stay  on  shore  was  to  be  limited  to  the 
day  time,  because  of  the  supposed  danger  from 
fevers  to  unacclimated  white  men. 

The  canoes  had  been  plying  back  and  forth  be- 
tween the  shore  and  the  brig  during  all  the  hours 
of  our  visit,  carrying  bananas,  cocoanuts,  yams, 
and  potatoes,  that  had  been  purchased  at  nominal 
prices  by  the  captain ;  but  our  entertainment  on 
the  shore  had  been  wholly  free.  We  had  been 
urged  to  take  anything  we  found  suited  to  our 
tastes;  and  besides  filling  ourselves  with  luscious 
fruit  picked  directly  from  the  trees,  many  of  the 
crew  had  absorbed  large  quantities  of  the  native 
drink.  After  having  once  partaken  of  it,  its  seduc- 
tive influence  was  simply  irresistible,  and  everybody 
had  indulged  himself  freely.  Mr.  Bowman  was  par- 
ticularly unfortunate  in  this  respect,  and,  when  the 
time  came  for  us  to  go  on  board  the  brig,  hung 
back. 

"  Gezz  not.     Zhish  good  'nough.     Yeh  don't  git 

me  'board — not  by  a  d n  sight  yeh  don't.     By 

gorry  —  by  gorry,  I  shtay  ri-right  where  I  be,  by 
gorry,"  he  announced. 


French  Pete  217 

The  captain  threw  both  his  arms  around  the  neck 
of  his  mate  in  an  affectionate  hug  and  coaxed  • 

"  Course,  weesh  all  know  thash  —  thash  all  right 
'nough —  course  't  is  —  thash  all  right  fast  'nough. 
We  don't — we  don't  shay — nothin'  'gin  that — course 
we  don't.  Nobuddy — nobuddy  can't  shay  nothin' 
'gin  that.  But,  darn  it  all,  wha' — whash  she  ush — 
whash  she  ush  stayin'  here  ?  Yeh  can't  ketch  no 
ile  —  don't  yeh  she  —  yeh  can't  git  no  ile  —  here  — 
course  not.     Come  —  lesh  go  'board." 

The  mate  was  neither  to  be  placated  nor  fooled, 
and,  shaking  the  captain  off,  he  insisted  roughly: 

"  Nope — nope — hain't  goin'  a  dum  step.  Thish 
bes'  place — besh  place  yeh  everzee  —  darn  'f  go. 
Pete!  —  Pete!"  he  called,  staggering  toward  the 
Frenchman.  "  Pete,  don't  yeh  want  a  mate? 
Shay,  don't  yeh  want  a  mate?  Blessh  y'r  ol'  hide 
an'  tallur,  Pete — ship  me  for  mate — thash  the  ticket 
— ship  me  for  mate,  won't  yeh  ?  " 

Pete,  who  was  himself  affected  by  the  day's  po- 
tations, now  added  his  persuasions  to  those  of  the 
captain  to  induce  the  mate  to  go  on  board : 

"  To  be  sure — to  be  sure,  but  she  know  —  you 
know  —  you  mus'  go  'board  an'  get  ze  zings  —  you 
mus'  go  'board  and  bring  avay  your  cloze." 

'*  No  yeh  don't  come  thash, —  yeh  don't  come 
none  o'  thash — not  on  me,  yeh  don't.  Wha' — 
whash  she  ush  o'  close  here  ?     Eh — eh  ?  —  Whash 


218  On  Board  a  Whaler 

she  ush  o'  close,  I  'd  like  to  know.  No — no  yeh 
don't.     Whash  she  ush  o'  close  here,  I  say  ?  " 

No  satisfactory  answer  being  forthcoming  to  this 
poser,  which  the  mate  continued  to  repeat  over  and 
over,  the  boys  generally  tried  to  persuade  him  to 
acccompany  us  on  board,  until  the  captain,  losing 
patience,  ordered  us  to  tumble  him  into  the  boat. 
A  short,  sharp  struggle  sufficed  to  stow  the  officer 
on  the  bottom  of  the  boat  at  the  stern,  and  we  took 
him  with  us  alongside.  As  we  rowed  out,  he  con- 
tinued to  bawl  loud  enough  to  be  heard  above  the 
maudlin  songs  of  the  crew : 

**  Shay  —  shay,  boys  —  boys.  Darn  'f  I  '11  go  — 
besh  place  yeh  ever  she —  Tra-la-la-la  —  shay  — 
shay — whash  she  matter?  Hey!  hey,  Cap' — got 
any  o'  thash — thash — thash — what — what — wha' — " 
and  the  voice  was  hushed  in  sleep. 

And  thus  ended  the  most  disgraceful  day  of  the 
voyage. 


CHAPTER    XXII 

A   MONKEY — ART   OF   SCRIMSHAWING— A   STORM 

AFTER  this  we  cruised  for  some  days  off  the 
coast  of  Senegambia,  now  and  then  touching 
at  some  one  of  the  islands  and  once  upon  the  main- 
land, upon  a  series  of  pleasure  trips.  At  least  it 
now  seems  to  me  we  had  no  legitimate  object  in 
staying  there  so  long.  We  did  take  on  a  small 
quantity  of  wood  at  the  last  place  we  stopped  at, 
but  the  fuel  could  as  well  have  been  obtained  weeks 
before. 

On  one  of  the  islands,  after  several  unavailing 
attempts  to  capture  a  monkey  ourselves,  the  captain 
purchased  one  from  the  natives,  who  while  he  re- 
mained with  us  afforded  much  amusement  by  his 
pranks.  At  first,  he  was  allowed  to  roam  at  will 
over  the  vessel,  but  after  he  had  let  a  number  of 
halyards  go  by  the  run,  and  had  been  caught  in  the 
cabin  stealing  a  pie,  his  exploits  were  limited  to  a 
small  portion  of  the  quarter-deck  by  means  of  a 
short  line  fastened  to  the  stern  railing  and  secured 

219 


220  On  Board  a  Whaler 

to  a  broad  leathern  band  encircling  Jacko's  waist, 
He  was  small,  active,  mischievous,  and  cross,  but  a 
general  favorite  with  the  crew,  and  probably  would 
have  arrived  safely  in  the  United  States  with  the 
brig  but  for  his  unfortunate  personal  vanity.  Soon 
after  being  confined  to  the  stern  of  the  vessel, 
Jacko  acquired  the  habit  of  dropping  himself  over 
the  railing  in  calm  weather,  where  for  hours  to- 
gether he  would  hang  suspended  a  foot  or  two 
above  the  water,  chattering,  scolding,  and  blinking 
at  his  own  image  reflected  up  to  him  from  the 
glass-like  surface  below.  No  harm  would  have 
come  from  this,  but  one  day,  before  taking  his 
usual  drop,  he  must  have  untied  his  line,  and  thus 
have  become  the  agent  of  his  own  drowning,  for 
when  we  missed  him,  the  entire  line  was  gone. 

After  taking  the  monkey  on  board,  we  left  the 
coast  and  a  few  weeks  later  were  well  out  into  the 
Atlantic  and  not  far  from  the  equator. 

"  Gosh,  it  's  hot!  What  's  become  of  all  the 
air!  "  I  complained  one  day. 

Nye,  who  was  sitting  opposite  me  on  his  trunk, 
yawned  and  held  out  for  my  inspection  a  polished 
whale  tooth  upon  which  he  had  at  odd  times  for 
several  days  been  working.  I  took  the  tooth  and 
examined  it  critically.  Nicely  engraved  upon  its 
smooth  surface  was  the  picture  of  a  matron  seated 
in  a  carved  chair  and  holding  a  small  boy  on  her 


Art  of  Scrimshawing  221 

lap,  while  beside  her  a  young  girl  knelt  turning  the 
leaves  of  a  book  that  rested  upon  the  boy's  knees. 
A  figured  rug  was  on  the  floor  and  under  the  chair; 
a  potted  geranium  sat  on  the  sill  of  an  open  window ; 
and  some  fleecy  white  clouds  beyond  completed  the 
design  —  a  home  scene,  skilfully  worked  out  in 
bright  water  colors. 

"  That  's  fine,"  I  declared,  with  genuine  enthu- 
siasm.    '*  I  wish  I  could  do  as  well  as  that." 

*   Lemme  see  yours." 

I  gave  a  last  rub  with  a  coarse  woollen  rag  upon 
my  whale  tooth  and  then  submitted  the  work  to 
him.  It  was  not  so  elaborate  as  his  engraving,  but 
it  represented  many  hours  of  patient  scratching  with 
the  point  of  my  penknife.  He  held  it  to  the  light., 
felt  of  its  polished  surface,  turned  it  this  way  and 
that,  and  tossed  it  back  to  me.  "  You  '11  learn  — 
tfoat  's  putty  good,"  he  said. 

We  spent  much  of  our  time  during  that  month  in 
"  scrimshawing."  It  was  a  fad,  like  the  fads  of 
shore  to  have  its  day  and  be  laid  aside  for  some 
new  one.  Not  only  were  many  whale  teeth  deco- 
rated by  us  with  varying  skill,  but  dozens  of  canes 
were  made  from  slabs  of  bone  sawed  from  the 
under  jaws  of  the  whales  we  had  caught,  and  orna- 
mented with  pictures  such  as  I  have  described. 

These  pictures  were  usually — not  always — copied 
from  some  book  or  magazine  on  board.     The  picture 


222  On  Board  a  Whaler 

would  be  cut  from  the  book  and  pasted  on  the  sur- 
face to  be  adorned,  after  which  its  principal  outlines 
would  be  pricked  upon  the  tooth  by  means  of  a  pin. 
Then  the  paper  would  be  washed  off  and  the  picture 
engraved  upon  the  tooth  by  a  penknife,  after  which 
the  water  colors  would  be  rubbed  across  the  little 
slits  in  the  bone  until  they  were  filled.  The  work 
was  an  agreeable  relief  from  idleness  and  helped 
much  to  kill  the  dragging  time. 

While  we  were  comparing  the  teeth,  the  bell 
tapped  and  we  put  them  away,  preparatory  to 
going  on  duty. 

For  some  days,  the  water  had  gleamed,  glassy 
and  unruffled,  about  us.  The  very  air  shone  as  it 
quivered  over  the  decks.  The  sails  hung  limp, 
chafing  against  the  booms  and  yards.  Not  a  speck 
obscured  the  sky.  The  air  that  had  been  for  hours 
sujtry  enough  became  suddenly  stifling  —  dead. 

It  was  my  turn  to  stand  at  the  wheel,  and  I  went 
there.  Jack  was  leaning  over  it  in  happy  uncon- 
sciousness. I  stepped  to  him  and  whispered  in  his 
ear: 

"  I  had  just  as  soon  go  back.  You  don't  have  to 
give  this  thing  up,  Jack,  if  you  don't  want  to." 

"  Huh — wha' — wha's  that?"  Jack  strained  his 
eyes  open  and  looked  blankly  at  me. — "  No,  I 
wa  'n't  nuther.  I  wa  'n't  asleep.  I  was  jest  kinder 
restiri ',  that  's  all,"  he  insisted. 


A  Storm  223 

M  Of  course  you  was,  Jack.  Anybody  could  see 
that  with  half  an  eye.  Let  me  spell  yeh  awhile  just 
for  a  change." 

"I  vum,  guess  we  've  got  to  the  hot  place  ahead 
o'  time!  M  I  heard  him  mutter  as  he  went  down 
off  the  quarter-deck  to  renew  his  dreams  in  the 
shade  of  the  try-works. 

The  monotonous  roll  of  the  brig,  combined  with 
the  intense  heat  in  the  dead  air,  soon  rendered  me 
as  insensible  as  Jack  had  been.  I  do  not  know  how 
long  I  had  been  asleep  before  I  was  roused  by  a 
step  on  the  cabin  stairs  and  rubbed  my  eyes  open 
to  see  who  was  coming.  It  was  the  captain,  and  as 
he  rushed  on  deck  to  scan  the  heavens,  his  face 
spoke  of  worry. 

"  Dunno,  but  I  guess  we  're  goin'  to  ketch  it," 
he  said,  more  to  himself  than  to  me. 

My  eyes  followed  his  around  the  circle.  From 
horizon  to  zenith  and  thence  to  the  horizon  again 
was  nothing  but  flickering  brightness. 

In  another  moment,  Mr.  Bowman  came  up  from 
the  cabin,  in  his  turn  scanning  the  sky. 

•'  Guess  there  's  time  enough  to  make  things 
snug;  but  she  's  comin'  sure.  Had  n't  I  best  take 
in  sail,  sir  ?  "  he  asked. 

1  Ye-ah.  Reef  ev'rything  down  close  afore  yeh 
furl  'em.  They  '11  be  handier  to  shake  out  bym-by. 
But  take  in  ev'ry  rag." 


224  On  Board  a  Whaler 

"  All  hands  take  in  sail,"  shouted  the  mate. 

"  Aye,  aye,  sir.  All  hands  take  in  sail,"  roared 
Frank,  who  was  in  charge  of  the  main-deck. 

V  Aho-o-o-oy!  All-1-1-1-1  hands  on  deck  and  take 
in  sail,"  some  one  bellowed  in  the  forecastle  gang- 
way. 

In  half  a  minute,  the  decks  and  rigging  were 
swarming  with  the  crew,  every  man  hustling  in 
obedience  to  some  order. 

*  *  I  *11  tend  to  this.  You  go  forrard  and  help," 
the  captain  said  to  me,  assuming  control  of  the 
wheel  himself. 

The  V  line  "  was  near  at  hand,  the  crossing  of 
which  would  make  even  us  green  hands  salts,  and  we 
had  become  experts  in  handling  sails.  In  less  time 
than  is  required  for  telling  it,  every  sail  on  the  brig 
had  been  neatly  furled  and  secured,  and  masts  and 
spars  were  all  as  bare  as  they  could  be  made  with- 
out actually  unbending  the  canvas. 

I  had  helped  furl  the  foretopsail.  In  my  descent, 
casting  my  eye  back,  I  saw  a  knot  that  was  not 
well  tied,  and,  after  the  others  had  all  gone  down, 
returned  to  make  it  right.  As  I  finished  retying 
the  knot,  I  heard  a  rumbling  noise  from  over  the 
water,  and  a  small  white  cloud  appeared  on  the 
edge  of  the  horizon.  The  rumbling  quickly  in- 
creased to  a  growl,  then  to  a  roar,  deepening  and 
strengthening  each  second,   while   the   cloud    kite 


A  Storm  225 

shot  rapidly  upwards  followed  by  others,  each  in 
its  turn  darker  than  the  one  that  preceded  it;  until 
in  five  seconds  the  whole  western  sky  was  hidden  in 
darkness  out  of  which  came  hideous  noises,  flashes, 
and  shrieks.  Then  a  huge  black  mass  of  cloud 
came  swirling  and  bellowing  down  upon  us. 

I  saw  at  once  that  we  were  '*  going  to  ketch  it," 
and  taking  care  to  go  down  on  the  windward  side 
hastened  my  descent.  I  had  passed  the  short  lad- 
der under  the  foretop  and  was  half-way  down  to  the 
deck  when  a  violent  pressure  from  behind  flattened 
me  upon  the  rigging,  where  I  lay  held  as  in  a  vice 
looking  straight  down  into  the  spray-flecked  sea. 
The  hurricane  had  struck  us  and  the  brig  was  on 
her  beam  ends. 

The  hissing  howl  of  wind,  the  crashing  peals  of 
thunder,  the  vivid  flashes  of  light,  the  chilling  tor- 
rents of  rain,  the  furious  impetuosity  of  the 
onslaught  combined  to  stun  me,  and  only  vague 
recollections  of  the  next  succeeding  minutes  have 
survived. 

By  the  time  I  was  again  able  to  think  the  inertia 
of  the  brig  had  been  partially  overcome  and  she 
had  commenced  to  move  with  the  gale.  As  her 
hull  yielded,  the  pressure  upon  her  masts  was  les- 
sened, the  foreyard  lifted  from  the  waves,  the  bow 
gradually    swung   away  on    the   blast,   and  slowly 

we  righted    until   the   vessel   stood   erect  speeding 

15 


226  On  Board  a  Whaler 

before  the  hurricane.  As  steady  as  an  ice-boat  skat- 
ing in  a  park,  we  rushed  over  a  perfect  plane.  The 
sea  had  become  level  as  a  pond.  Even  the  usual 
swell  had  disappeared.  The  ocean  itself  had  been 
stretched  flat  by  the  fierce  blow,  and  nothing  but 
sheets  of  flying  foam  marred  its  surface. 

As  the  bow  of  the  brig  swung  off  with  the  wind, 
my  position  became  too  dangerous  for  calm  obser- 
vation of  the  water.  While  we  lay  side  on  to  the 
wind,  I  could  not  have  fallen  without  great  effort ; 
but  as  we  turned  and  the  gale  came  more  and  more 
from  one  side  of  me,  all  my  strength  was  exerted 
to  maintain  my  hold  on  the  shrouds.  For  a  few 
minutes  it  seemed  as  if  I  must  be  wrenched  loose 
and  blown  into  the  sea;  but  with  the  gathering 
headway,  the  force  of  the  wind  against  my  side  was 
diminished,  and  the  descent  was  finally  made  in 
safety. 

We  were  now  going  with  the  storm,  and  there 
was  no  difficulty  in  making  my  way  back  to  the 
wheel. 

On  this,  as  on  one  other  occasion  to  be  related, 
the  captain  assumed  the  work  of  an  ordinary  sea- 
man, rather  than  trust  it  to  less  skilful  hands,  and 
I  found  him  still  at  the  wheel  when  I  reached 
it. 

M  Shall  I  take  her,  sir  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  No,  my  boy.     I  guess  I  '11  handle  'er  a  spell 


A  Storm  227 

yit.  You  might  stand  by  though,  and  mebbe 
yeh  '11  learn  suthin'.  Yeh  never  see  nothin'  like 
this,  did  yeh  ?  " 

I  admitted  my  lack  of  experience  in  such  storms, 
and  construing  the  captain's  words  to  be  an  order 
to  remain,  stood  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  wheel 
from  him  until  the  end  of  my  turn,  the  wind  howl- 
ing and  the  rain  pouring  around  us. 

The  lightning  took  its  thunder  on  in  advance  of 
us,  seeking  new  beings  to  terrify,  and  we  were  soon 
far  behind  listening  to  the  boom,  boo-oo-oom, 
boo-m-m-m,  b-m-m-m,  until  even  that  could  no 
longer  be  heard.  The  ocean  quickly  lost  its  flat- 
tened surface,  and  huge  billows  rose  to  chase  the 
brig  as  she  fled  in  a  mad  career.  In  place  of  the 
furnace  of  heated,  dead  air  in  which  we  had  been 
roasting,  we  now  shivered  and  shivered  in  a  contin- 
uous shower  bath.  'The  pitiless  torrent  pelted  our 
faces,  our  necks,  our  hands,  every  exposed  spot  of 
our  bodies,  with  stinging  force,  and  sent  its  ice-cold 
streams  behind  our  collars  and  down  our  backs, 
until  our  teeth  chattered.  All  in  all,  that  hour 
with  the  captain  at  the  wheel  was  one  of  the  most 
miserable  I  have  ever  spent. 

A  few  minutes  before  the  bell  tapped  for  my  re- 
lief from  this  torture,  Mr.  Bowman  came  and  stood 
near  us. 

"  This  might  have  be'n  a  pesky  sight  wuss,"  he 


228  On  Board  a  Whaler 

remarked.  "  We  're  headed  right  for  the  grounds, 
and  gittin'  there  a-flukin'." 

"  Mebbe,"  the  captain  replied,  rather  grimly. 
'*  These  darned  things  are  suthin'  like  sperm  whales, 
though  —  they  veer.  She  's  swung  clost  to  a  p'int 
already,  and  more  'n  likely  she  '11  be  clean  'round 
afore  mornin'." 

M  I  don't  suppose  't  would  do  to  heave  'er  to, 
would  it  ?  "  the  mate  rather  suggested  than  inquired. 

*'  No,  I  guess  that 's  too  resky.  There  hain't  no 
use  takin'  no  chances  here.  If  it  lets  up  some 
bym-by,  and  she  keeps  veerin',  mebbe  we  'd  best 
try  it." 

At  eight  o'clock  that  evening  our  watch  was  again 
on  deck.  The  storm  continued  in  full  force,  with 
the  waves  growing  in  height  and  fury,  while  the 
rain  still  poured  its  chill  sheets  upon  us. 

For  the  first  hour,  I  paced  back  and  forth,  back 
and  forth,  across  the  forecastle  deck  on  the  forward 
lookout,  glancing  over  the  bow  at  each  turn  of  my 
beat,  while  the  deepening  gloom  crept  upon  us. 
I  was  now  better  dressed  for  the  storm  than  before. 
An  oilskin  suit  and  tarpaulin  hat  afforded  some 
protection  from  the  wind  and  rain,  but  in  spite  of 
them  the  water  soon  found  its  way  inside,  and  my 
teeth  again  clattered  from  the  cold. 

After  the  hour  at  the  lookout,  there  was  nothing 
for  me  to  do  but  to  seek  shelter  from  the  relentless 


A  Storm  229 

gale ;  and,  in  front  of  the  try-pots,  in  front  of  the 
cook-house,  in  front  of  the  masts,  in  front  of  the 
cabin,  in  turn  I  sought  it,  crouching  and  shivering, 
always  pelted  by  the  rain. 

There  seemed  no  escape  from  the  torture  to 
which  we  were  subjected,  and  during  the  last  hours 
of  our  watch,  I  stood  out  upon  the  most  open  part 
of  the  deck,  doggedly  taking  note  of  the  rushing, 
tumbling,  raging,  white  foam-capped  billows  — 
decidedly  less  miserable  than  before.  There,  my 
mind  forgot  the  sufferings  of  the  body,  and  the 
minutes  slipped  along  with  the  seething,  tossing 
waves.  I  was  now  a  looker-on  at  a  wild  race  in 
which  the  brig  and  multitudes  of  demons  were  the 
steeds.  The  brig  no  longer  stood  upright  and 
steady,  but  was  hurled  and  tossed  about,  lifted  and 
whirled  upon  the  mighty  cauldron  leaping  and  sur- 
ging about  her.  She  was  being  driven — dodging  and 
jumping,  parrying  and  striking,  seeming  like  a 
breathing  thing  —  but  yet  driven  helplessly  along. 
It  was  thrillingly  grand  and  awe-inspiring,  surely; 
yet,  benumbed  with  cold  and  wretched  as  we  were, 
the  sound  of  the  bell  summoning  us  away  at  mid- 
night was  most  welcome. 

M  What  's  the  weather  ?  "  growled  Jack,  loath  to 
crawl  from  his  bunk. 

Hades  multiplied,"  I  declared.     "  But  get  out 
of  this  and  let  me  in,"  I  demanded. 


230  Oq  Board  a  Whaler 

"  Thought  hades  was  hot,"  he  remarked,  rolling 
out. 

"  So  't  is,  but  you  '11  find  this  hotter,"  grumbled 
Nye. 

How  comfortable  this  gloomy  den  had  become! 
It  was  not  now  stuffy  or  too  hot.  The  berth  in 
which  Jack  had  made  place  for  me  and  the  blankets 
in  which  I  snuggled  were  luxurious,  soft,  and  nice 
as  I  dropped  into  the  realm  of  dreams  amidst  the 
playing  of  skyrockets,  the  booming  of  cannons, 
magically  changed  to  the  chippering  of  sparrows  and 
the  laughter  of  children,  followed  by  the  gentle 
floating  away  upon  the  still  air  as  we  never  float 
elsewhere  than  in  dreams,  until  the  cry  was  re- 
sounding: 

"  Star-ar-ar-bud  watch  aho-o-o-oy." 

"I  '11  be  kicked  if  we  've  more  'n  got  down 
here,"  Nye  shouted  in  answer  to  the  call. 

But  we  had  been  in  our  bunks  full  four  hours, 
and  Jack  was  standing  by  my  berth  waiting  for  his 
place. 

M  Come,  come,  Tom,  hustle  out  o'  that,  will 
yeh,"  he  growled.  "  Come,  hurry  up.  I  'm  jest 
parb'iled,  and  that  's  all  there  is  about  it.  If  hades 
hain't  any  warmer  'n  't  is  on  deck,  I  'm  goin'  to 
speak  for  a  berth  in  t'other  place." 

Hurling  imprecations  right  and  left,  and  at  the 
brig  in  particular,  our  watches  rolled   out  of  their 


A  Storm  231 

bunks  to  dress,  while  the  floor  tipped,  fell,  rose, 
twisted,  and  rocked  with  a  violence  upsetting  to 
the  most  practised  sea-legs  among  us.  Every 
plank,  beam,  and  timber  at  our  end  of  the  brig  was 
squeaking  and  groaning  under  the  strain ;  and  yet, 
since  we  were  moving  with  the  gale,  the  move- 
ments of  the  vessel,  though  hard  to  anticipate,  were 
comparatively  easy,  smooth,  and  flowing.  We  had 
no  liking  for  the  deck,  and  hated  to  leave  our 
bunks.  The  love  of  nature  had  never  been  devel- 
oped in  us  at  the  study  fire.  We  had  little  of  the 
imagination  that  assumes  to  delight  in  such  storms. 
The  gale  sang  no  carols  for  us ;  the  ocean  was  peo- 
pled by  no  fancies.  The  wind  only  howled  and 
shrieked;  the  ocean  was  nothing  but  water.  The 
rain  pelted  and  tormented  us ;  the  sea  hankered  for 
nothing  but  our  hides.  We  were  common  sailors, 
preferring  the  warmth  and  comforts  of  our  berths 
to  exposure  in  any  hurricane,  be  it  never  so  grand  or 
sublime.  So  we  gripped  our  lips,  donned  our  oil- 
skin suits,  tied  on  our  hats,  and  went  on  deck 
without  a  thought  of  poetical  raptures  in  the  storm. 
It  was  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  dark. 
The  red  and  green  lights  in  the  forerigging  did  little 
to  dispel  the  gloominess  of  the  scene.  Around  us 
was  nothing  but  shadows  of  mountainous  waves. 
The  winds  whistled  and  shrieked  among  the  shrouds 
and  stung  our  faces  as  it  passed.     The  rain  had 


232  On  Board  a  Whaler 

nearly  ceased,  but  the  blast-borne  spray  was  search- 
ing as  we  pressed  through  it  on  our  way  aft. 

At  the  wheel,  I  found  the  second  mate  and  one 
of  the  Portuguese  boys,  and  relieved  them.  Mr. 
Bowman  had  come  up  from  the  cabin  and  was  wait- 
ing as  I  came  to  my  post  to  learn  whose  turn  had 
come  to  steer. 

"  Do  you  think  you  can  keep  her  head  off  ?  "  he 
asked  of  me. 

'■  I  can  try,  sir." 

The  compass  was  in  front  of  us,  lighted  by  the 
binnacle  lamp,  and  showed  that  our  course  had 
shifted  so  much  during  the  night  that  we  were  no 
longer  headed  for  the  desired  whaling  grounds.  I 
glanced  for  an  instant  back  at  the  phosphorescent 
lights  gleaming  in  our  wake,  saw  the  great  host  of 
raging  whitecaps  madly  chasing  behind,  admonish- 
ing me  of  the  responsibility  of  my  post,  and  then 
turned  my  whole  mind  to  keeping  the  brig  before 
the  wind.  The  mate  stood  beside  me  a  few  minutes 
to  make  sure  that  I  could  do  the  work,  and  then 
went  away. 

A  little  later,  the  captain  joined  the  mate  and 
both  came  and  looked  at  the  compass. 

"  Suthin'  's  got  to  be  done,"  the  captain  declared. 

"  She  's  a  clipper,  and  stiff  as  they  make  'em,  but 
this  is  putty  squally  for  'er  to  lay  to  in,"  the  mate 
counselled. 


A  Storm  233 

"  Ye-ah — mebbe. "  The  captain  paced  a  turn  or 
two  across  the  deck  and  then  came  back  to  the  com- 
pass. "  Lash  ev'rything  snug,  and  we'll  try  it 
anyhow,"  he  said  presently  to  the  mate. 

Mr.  Bowman  went  forward  to  see  that  every 
movable  thing  was  secured.  The  captain  came  and 
stood  beside  me,  saying  more  to  himself  than  to 
me: 

"  There  's  no  use  talking,  she  's  jest^tf/  to  stand 
it.  I  hain't  going  to  lose  all  we  've  gained,  taggin' 
along  on  behind  this  thing  —  not  by  a  darned  sight. 
No,  siree,  she  's  got  to  stand  it,  that  's  all." 

The  steel-gray  clouds  of  dawn  soon  after  lent 
their  color  to  the  waves,  which  piled  high  around 
us,  hard,  cold,  awful,  as  befitted  such  foes. 

"  All  ready,  sir,"  announced  the  mate. 

"  Then  call  all  hands  and  make  sail." 

'*  Aye,  aye,  sir.  Call  all  hands  and  make  sail," 
roared  the  mate. 

The  order  was  repeated  sharply  by  Frank  and  re- 
iterated at  the  forecastle  gangway  by  a  foremast 
hand,  until  the  sleepers  in  the  bunks  came  rushing 
up. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  repeat  the  commands  that 
followed  in  quick  succession,  resulting  in  spreading 
to  the  wind  a  jib,  a  close-reefed  foretopsail,  and  a 
small  piece  of  the  big  mainsail.  I  was  attending  to 
my  own  duties  and  affairs  at  the  wheel  and  probably 


234  On  Board  a  Whaler 

did  not  hear  many  of  them  at  the  time.  While 
the  sails  were  being  set  the  captain  busied  himself 
lashing  first  me  and  then  his  own  person  to  the 
steering-gear. 

"  Most  likely  we  '11  git  swashed  some  here,"  he 
remarked  to  me. 

When  everything  was  ready,  I  heard  the  bugle 
notes  of  the  mate  and  the  hoarser  cries  of  Mr. 
Brown  summoning  the  men  to  the  braces,  and  then 
came  to  me  from  the  captain : 

M  Hardapon." 

We  spun  the  wheel  around  together  and  the  bow 
turned  from  its  course,  while  the  yardarms  and 
boom  were  braced  and  hauled  home  to  suit  the 
change. 

As  the  gale  struck  the  sails  side  on,  the  brig 
careened,  dipping  her  foreyard  again  in  the  sea, 
and  dashed  ahead  in  a  sudden  leap. 

It  required  our  joint  strengths  to  hold  the  wheel. 

"  Hang  to  'er,"  the  captain  shouted  to  me,  tug- 
ging with  all  his  might  at  the  spokes  on  the  other 
side. 

A  very  mountain  of  water  was  rising  to  wind- 
ward, threatening  to  engulf  us  in  its  toppling  rush ; 
and  with  eyes  fixed  on  that  avalanche  we  gritted 
our  teeth  hard  and  clung  to  our  work.  Higher, 
higher,  and  higher  that  wave  swelled,  lower  and 
lower  and  lower  into  the  gulf  we  sank,  and  then 


"we  gritted  our  teeth  hard  and  clunq  to  OUR  WORK." 


A  Storm  235 

with  a  great  roaring  swash  it  came  tumbling  down 
toward  us.  One  lingering  instant  of  horrible  sus- 
pense followed,  and  then  the  bow  commenced  to 
climb  the  towering  wave.  As  though  lashed  to 
fury  by  the  prospect  of  failure  the  mighty  sea  came 
foaming  on. 

Up  to  heaven  shot  the  vast  sheet  of  spray,  and 
then  down  it  came  upon  us.  Half  smothered,  we 
gasped  for  breath  for  a  moment,  and  then  were  high 
up  on  the  top  of  the  great  wave,  and  dipping  down 
into  the  trough  beyond.  The  brig  had  stood  the 
supreme  test  and  we  were  safe ! 

"  How  's  that,  Tom  ?"  the  captain  panted  from 
his  side  of  the  wheel. 

"  Bully!  "  I  responded,  forgetting  my  M  sir." 

Such  situations  are  great  levellers  of  men,  and  for 
the  moment  captain  and  sailor  were  fellow-beings. 

A  few  minutes  later  we  lashed  the  wheel  and  left 
it.  The  brig  was  lying  to,  facing  the  gale,  and 
steering  was  superfluous.  If  she  could  withstand 
the  pounding  of  the  sea,  we  were  safe. 

But  our  misery  had  not  come  to  its  end ;  in  truth, 
it  was  much  increased.  We  no  longer  settled  into 
the  troughs  of  seas,  gently,  smoothly,  with  rolling 
swings,  to  presently  rise  upon  an  easily  undulating 
wave.  The  brig  must  now  do  battle  with  her  foe. 
So  long  as  she  had  opposed  nothing  and  yielded 
everything,  she  had  been  boisterously  but  not  un- 


236  On  Board  a  Whaler 

kindly  handled.  She  was  a  baby  to  be  coddled  and 
tossed  and  wept  over  by  mother  ocean.  Now,  she 
had  become  a  sulking,  obdurate  brat,  and  deserved 
to  be  mauled  and  yanked  about  until  she  should 
submit.  Henceforth  she  was  to  be  cuffed,  kicked, 
slapped,  and  pounded  into  obedience,  or  else  to 
conquer  her  dam. 

The  velocity  of  the  gale  had  slightly  decreased, 
but,  now  that  we  refused  to  go  with  it,  its  seeming 
velocity  was  doubled.  It  howled  like  a  million 
demons  among  the  shrouds  and  rigging,  and  came 
sharply,  stingingly  cold,  splashing  the  spray  vi- 
ciously in  our  faces.  No  voice  could  be  heard  above 
the  din,  and  there  was  no  escape  from  the  flying 
water. 

At  short  intervals,  in  addition  to  the  spray,  we 
were  now  flooded  with  brine.  A  second  too  late  to 
meet  a  wave,  dealt  a  stunning  blow  upon  her  nose, 
the  brig  would  tremble  and  groan,  while  sheets  of 
spray  sprang  aloft  to  come  scurrying  back,  half 
drowning  every  man  they  met.  Then  the  bowsprit 
would  be  poked  deep  into  the  side  of  an  oncoming 
mountain,  and  before  it  could  be  wrenched  clear  of 
the  wave  tons  of  water  would  come  pouring  in  over 
the  bow  and  rush  along  back,  taking  everything 
before  it. 

The  hatches  had  been  tightly  shut  and  battened, 
and  the  gangways  leading  from  the  main-deck  had 


A  Storm  237 

both  been  closed,  or  we  must  have  quickly  foun- 
dered. As  it  was,  the  main-deck  was  so  continu- 
ously awash  that  the  crew  were  obliged  to  resort  to 
the  quarter-deck  for  safety.  There,  although  the 
spray  reached  us  often,  we  were  in  less  danger  of 
being  washed  off  our  feet. 

In  this  way  all  of  that  day,  and  late  into  the  fol- 
lowing night,  we  were  doused  and  battered,  while 
the  vessel  twisted  and  pulled,  shook  and  bellowed, 
meeting,  dodging,  and  taking  the  blows  dealt  by  the 
ocean,  desperately  struggling  like  a  live  thing  to 
keep  afloat.     Awe-inspiring  ?     Yes,  but  boring. 

As  we  crouched  for  shelter  behind  the  cabin  sky- 
light late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day,  we 
heard  Mr.  Bowman  call  out  above  the  uproar: 

M  Who  dares  furl  that  jib  ?  " 

We  all  jumped  to  our  feet  and  looked  out  over 
the  bow.  Near  the  end  of  the  bowsprit  a  bit  of 
canvas  was  fluttering  in  the  wind.  The  flying  jib 
was  about  to  unfurl  and  in  a  moment  would  be 
spread  out  to  be  caught  by  the  next  wave.  A 
dozen  times  that  day  we  had  seen  the  foretopmast 
bending  like  a  bow  as  the  brig  tugged  to  lift  her 
bowsprit  from  under  the  water;  and  now  a  wide  sail 
was  to  be  spread  out  beneath  the  waves  for  them  to 
hold  upon.  The  strain  upon  the  spars  had  been 
tremendous  before ;  what  must  be  the  result  of  this 
added  weight!      Surely,  both    mast  and    bowsprit 


238  On  Board  a  Whaler 

must  give  way,  or  we  must  be  instantly  swamped  in 
the  rushing  flood.  The  danger  was  imminent  and 
appalling  to  all  who  saw  it. 

"  The  old  Harry  '11  be  to  pay  in  a  minute  if  that 
hain't  furled.  Who  dares  to  go  out  there  ? " 
shouted  the  mate. 

For  a  single  second  Nye  and  myself  stared  at 
each  other;  and  then  we  started  together  for  the 
bow.  Once  we  were  swept  from  our  feet  into  the 
lee  scuppers,  but  recovered  ourselves  and  dashed  on. 
Within  a  minute  we  had  reached  and  furled  the 
flapping  sail.  I  had  finished  tying  the  last  knot 
that  would  make  all  secure,  when  Nye,  who  was 
farther  out  on  the  bowsprit,  uttered  an  exclamation 
and  threw  both  his  arms  about  the  spar.  I  had  time 
to  follow  his  example  before  a  steel-blue  wall  rose 
in  front  of  us  and  a  cold  flood  swooped  down.  As  I 
sank  deeper  and  deeper,  a  confusing,  rippling  sound 
gurgled  in  my  ears.  Down,  down  we  went  until  it 
seemed  impossible  to  hold  our  breaths  longer;  then 
there  came  a  sense  of  helplessness  from  an  immense 
weight  on  our  backs;  a  horrible  roaring  filled  our 
ears  and  flashes  of  light  blinded  us,  until  we  found 
ourselves  suddenly  waved  high  above  the  flood,  and 
saw  a  great  gulf  yawning  fifty  feet  below  waiting 
to  receive  us  once  more. 

For  a  second  time  during  that  storm  my  memory 
failed  to  keep  its  record,  and  I  remember  nothing 


A  Storm  239 

clearly  of  the  next  few  minutes  until  Nye  and  I 
were  standing  together  before  Mr.  Bowman  on  the 
quarter-deck. 

M  You  fellows  have  done  your  share  for  to-day, 
and,  if  yeh  want  to,  yeh  c'n  go  below,"  he  said. 

That  was  all.  There  was  no  word  of  praise  or 
commendation,  even  for  Nye;  but  the  mate  ever 
afterwards  showed  that  he  had  forgiven  Nye. 

We  did  want  to  go  below,  and  went. 

The  next  morning  the  sun  shone  upon  a  glassy 
sea.  The  hurricane  had  cast  us  out  of  its  whirl- 
wind and  gone  its  turbulent  way,  leaving  behind 
an  ungoverned  sea  almost  as  disagreeable  as  itself. 
There  were  no  defined  waves  to  be  met;  nothing 
that  could  be  guarded  against ;  nothing  that  could 
be  anticipated.  The  ocean  simply  slopped  around 
us  in  erratic  heaps,  jerking  the  brig  about  until  it 
seemed  as  if  the  masts  must  be  snapped  out  of  her. 
It  was  perilous  to  walk  the  decks,  and  several  of 
the  men  who  had  never  been  seasick  before  con- 
fessed themselves  so  now ;  but  toward  noon  a  breeze 
sprang  up  to  soothe  the  waters  and  steady  our 
masts,  and  we  again  headed  for  the  south. 

This  storm  has  been  dwelt  upon  because  it  was 
the  only  one  of  its  kind  we  met.  Gales  were  not 
unusual — gales  that,  if  we  had  not  encountered 
that  one,  would  have  been  deemed  worthy  of  de- 
scription here.     When  overtaken  by  such  gales,  we 


240  On  Board  a  Whaler 

hove  to  under  shortened  sail  until  better  weather 
came.  We  preferred  nice  weather  to  such  storms, 
but  they  were  not  greatly  dreaded.  While  the 
wind  blew,  we  lashed  the  wheel  and  forgot  to  scrub 
the  decks,  but  the  lookout  was  kept  aloft  regularly, 
and  otherwise  the  humdrum  of  sea  life  went  on. 
The  big  storm  demanded  our  exclusive  attention 
and  received  it;  and  we  were  satisfied  to  escape 
without  the  loss  of  sail,  spar,  or  man. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

HAMMERHEADS   AND    FINBACKS 

THE  wind  had  left  us  drifting  in  another  calm 
some  days  after  the  storm,  when,  looking 
from  the  masthead  down  near  the  brig,  I  discovered 
a  peculiar  monster  swimming  near  us.  As  he  came 
nearer,  two  small  fishes  could  be  seen,  one  on  each 
side  and  a  little  in  front  of  the  big  one,  perhaps 
three  feet  from  the  ugly  head.  The  great  crea- 
ture was  wandering  aimlessly,  while  the  little 
"  pilots"  maintained  their  relative  positions  as  he 
turned. 

I  watched  the  fishes  several  minutes  before  speak- 
ing to  Frank,  who  was  standing  on  the  other  mast. 
Then  I  pointed  them  out  to  him. 

Y  That  fellow  looks  like  a  muffled  chopped  hen," 
I  observed. 

"  Don't  'e,  though  ?" 

"  There  's  a  queer  duck  'longside,  sir,"  Frank 
reported  to  Mr.  Bowman. 

A   rush  by   all  hands  to  the  side  of  the   vessel 

16 

241 


242  On  Board  a  Whaler 

followed  this  announcement,  and  then  we  heard 
the  mate  say : 

M  It  's  a  thunderin'  big  hammerhead.  Some- 
body git  the  shark  line  and  we  '11  have  a  bit  o' 
fun." 

A  moment  later  the  line  was  produced  and  a 
hook  concealed  in  a  piece  of  fat  pork  was  dropped 
overboard  in  front  of  the  shark.  With  the  first 
splash,  the  brute  glided  forward,  turned  on  his  side 
with  jaws  distended,  and  pork  and  hook  disap- 
peared together  down  the  capacious  throat. 

The  fun  was  on,  with  five  boys  holding  the  body  of 
the  line  and  a  monstrous  hammerhead  at  the  end  of  it. 

Catching  the  spirit  of  the  sport,  the  captain 
leaped  to  the  railing  where  he  could  oversee  it  and 
directed  the  movements  of  the  boys. 

The  shark,  suddenly  becoming  aware  that  all  was 
not  well,  dived  for  deep  water. 

'*  Ease  'im,  boys,"  the  captain  shouted.  "  Don't 
hold  'im  too  taut  or  he  '11  yank  the  hook  loose." 

Down  and  down  went  the  shark  until  he  had 
taken  nearly  all  the  line.  "  Check  'im,  boys — easy 
— easy, — not  too  sudden,"  the  captain  cried,  his 
hands  and  his  face  working  like  those  of  an  orches- 
tral leader. 

The  shark  turned  then  to  come  up.  M  Pull  in, 
boys.  Faster — faster  !  Git  it  or  he  '11  chaw  the 
darned  line  off,"  screamed  the  master. 


Hammerheads  and  Finbacks      243 

The  line  was  coming  in  as  fast  as  men  could  haul 
it  in,  but  not  so  fast  as  the  shark  was  rising.  Up, 
up  he  came  looking  like  a  streak  of  silver,  until 
he  shot  his  length  above  the  water  and  fell  back 
with  a  great  splash. 

We  looked  eagerly  at  the  line.  It  was  hanging 
limp  from  a  corner  of  the  snapping  mouth,  un- 
harmed. 

Then  his  sharkship  made  a  rush  away  from  the 
brig  that  brought  the  line  hissing  through  the 
fingers  of  the  men. 

'■  Hold  'im  !  "  yelled  the  captain,  slapping  his  legs 
to  emphasize  the  order.  "  Hold  'im  fast  !  Don't 
give  'im  an  inch  !  " 

The  boys  secured  better  holds  of  the  line  and 
clung  on.  In  vain  the  creature  lashed  the  sea  with 
his  powerful  tail,  and  wriggled,  whirled,  and  twisted 
his  lithe  body.  The  line  was  strong  and  the  hook 
well  placed.  The  shark  was  held.  In  another 
second  he  was  describing  a  circle  having  the  line 
for  its  radius  and  ending  in  a  tremendous  thump 
on  his  nose,  as  he  reached  the  side  of  the  brig. 
For  an  instant,  the  monster  lay  stunned,  but  recov- 
ered and  dashed  away  on  the  other  tack — a  tack  we 
hoped  would  lead  to  a  second  bump. 

M  Steady — steady,  now.  Hang  to  'im,  boys.  He 
'll  butt  his  brains  out  this  pop,  sure,"  the  captain 
declared. 


244  On  Board  a  Whaler 

But  the  shark  proved  that  he  had  gathered  wis- 
dom from  experience,  and,  just  as  he  would  have 
struck  the  brig  a  second  time,  he  veered  sharply  and 
came  swimming  rapidly  beside  her. 

"  Pull  in — pull  in  lively  !  He  '11  ketch  that  line 
and  you  '11  lose  'im!  "  the  captain  shrieked. 

But  the  shark  did  not  catch  the  line.  Instead, 
he  secured  a  good  start  on  another  dive  for  bottom, 
and  the  line  was  again  whizzing  through  the  fingers 
of  the  boys. 

"  Hold  'im — hold  'im!  "  bellowed  the  captain. 

The  line  continued  to  slip  along,  and  one  of  the 
boys  tried  to  catch  a  turn  with  it  over  a  belaying 
pin  in  the  rail. 

"  No,  no,  no  !  Don't  make  that  line  fast.  He 
'11  break  it  sure — or  yank  loose.  Ease  'im — there 
— that 's  it.  Ease  'im  so — keep  a  taut  haul  on  'im, 
but  ease  'im — that  's  the  way." 

The  steady  strain  upon  the  line  soon  exhausted 
the  shark  and  he  turned  once  more  toward  the  sur- 
face; but  this  time  he  was  weary  and  discouraged, 
and  came  slowly,  as  though  reluctant  to  reach  the 
top. 

*'  There,  he  's  done  for,  boys.  Haul  'im  in  now 
— not  too  fast.  Don't  rip  the  hook  out — take  your 
time,  now.  He  's  give  it  up,"  the  captain  coun- 
selled. 

Slowly    the   shark   yielded    and    floated    toward 


Hammerheads  and  Finbacks      245 

the  vessel   as    the    boys    pulled    steadily    on    the 
line. 

"  We  've  got  the  old  whelp,"  Frank  cried,  exult- 
ingly. 

"  Ye-up,"  I  responded.  "  He  's  our  meat,  all 
right." 

But  at  that  instant  the  monster  darted  suddenly 
forward,  and  the  boys,  whose  weights  had  been 
concentrated  on  the  line,  fell  in  a  heap  on  the  deck. 
Before  they  could  get  to  their  feet,  the  shark  had 
doubled  on  himself,  and  we  saw  a  loop  of  the  line 
slipping  between  his  jaws. 

M  Wa-al,  I  '11  be  switched!"  exclaimed  Frank. 

The  captain  looked  up  at  us  and  grinned.  Then 
we  watched  his  sharkship  swimming  leisurely  away 
as  though  nothing  had  happened  to  him. 

This  shark  was  perhaps  twelve  feet  long  and  dif- 
fered from  other  sharks  in  the  shape  of  his  head. 
The  head  of  the  common  shark  is  continuous  with 
the  body  and  comes  to  a  rounded,  shovel-like  point 
at  the  front.  The  creature  carried  an  enormous 
projecting  growth  on  each  side  of  his  head  that  had 
reminded  me  of  the  muffled  chops  fowls  at  home. 
This  growth,  extending  a  foot  or  more  from  the 
sides,  when  looked  at  from  aloft,  seemed  shaped 
much  like  a  mallet  or  double-bitted  axe,  and  the 
shark  has  derived  his  common  name  from  this  ap- 
pearance.    The  eyes  protruded  boldly  from  either 


246  On  Board  a  Whaler 

end  of  the  projecting  growths,  increasing  the  oddity 
of  the  brute.  We  found  him  surprisingly  agile  for 
a  creature  so  awkward  in  looks. 

I  do  not  remember  having  seen  one  of  this 
variety  of  shark  among  the  schools  which  sur- 
rounded dead  whales.  The  few  we  saw  were,  ex- 
cept for  their  little  guardians,  wandering  alone. 

The  pilot  fishes  were  handsome  little  fellows 
about  a  foot  in  length  and  marked  with  black 
stripes  running  across  their  silvery  sides.  They 
nearly  always  accompanied  the  larger  sharks  we 
saw  wandering  alone,  and  may  have  been  among 
the  swarms  about  whales,  but  I  do  not  remember 
noticing  them  there.  Those  that  we  saw  with  the 
hammerhead  disappeared  during  the  struggle,  but 
probably  resumed  their  charge  after  it. 

The  shark  had  scarcely  gone  from  sight  before 
Frank  shouted  the  potent  cry, 

"  There  she  blo-o-o-ows  ! " 

A  puff  of  spray  shot  straight  and  high  above  the 
water  some  miles  from  the  brig,  a  black  object  was 
seen  settling  away,  and  the  cry  was  repeated  in  sub- 
dued tones  from  all  parts  of  the  ship. 

The  spout  rising  straight  and  high,  and  falling 
back  with  the  regular  sweep  of  a  water  fountain, 
proclaimed  the  species  of  the  whale. 

"  It  's  nothin'  but  a  finback,"  some  one  declared, 
and  the  boys  on  the  deck  resumed  their  work. 


Hammerheads  and  Finbacks      247 

The  finback  is  of  all  whales  perhaps  the  least  val- 
uable and  the  most  difficult  to  capture.  He  offers 
little  temptation  to  the  whaler  to  exert  himself,  and 
is  usually  left  unmolested.  He  is  much  less  valu- 
able than  either  the  killer,  the  grampus,  or  the 
sulphur  bottom,  while  he  rivals  them  all  in 
speed. 

Why  the  captain  in  this  instance  thought  proper 
to  order  the  boats  lowered,  we  never  knew.  Per- 
haps he  thought  it  would  be  good  practice  for  the 
green  members  of  his  crew,  and  that  the  whale 
would  yield  enough  to  pay  the  cost  of  the  labor. 
Whatever  was  the  reason,  the  command  was  given 
for  the  boats  to  "  get  away." 

Mr.  Bowman  had  passed  the  fun-loving  period  of 
life  and  requested  to  be  excused  from  lowering  his 
boat.  M  All  right,"  was  the  good-natured  answer, 
so  he  remained  on  board  while  the  captain  and 
second  mate  started  for  the  finback. 

To  avoid  alarming  him,  it  is  necessary  to  ap- 
proach any  whale  lying  in  still  water  with  great 
caution.  It  was  especially  requisite  that  we  should 
move  quietly  in  coming  upon  a  finback,  for,  once 
he  is  aroused,  he  is  bound  to  escape.  Hence,  after 
rowing  a  short  distance  toward  the  animal,  we  took 
to  the  paddles  for  the  balance  of  the  way. 

The  animal  was  lying  perfectly  still,  his  back  ris- 
ing and  sinking  in  the  waves,  and  occasionally  he 


248  On  Board  a  Whaler 

spouted  as  we  paddled  along.     Slowly,  softly  dip- 
ping our  little  oars,  we  crept  up  to  him. 

By  George,  the  old  weasel  's  asleep,"  the  cap- 
tain whispered  to  Jim.  V  You  git  in  on  that  side 
and  we  '11  take  'im  on  this,"  he  added  in  a  low  voice 
to  the  second  mate,  who  was  just  behind  us.  M  Give 
'im  your  lance  fust,  and  foller  it  with  your  iron," 
he  whispered  to  the  boat-steerers  in  turn. 

"  Aye,  aye,  sir,"  they  responded  in  whispers. 

With  bated  breaths  we  drew  cautiously  in  upon 
the  apparently  sleeping  whale. 

A  little  to  one  side  of  us  a  wide  fluke  lay  spread 
out  a  few  feet  under  the  water.  In  front  of  that, 
and  reaching  beyond  it  something  like  sixty  feet, 
was  the  long,  narrow,  black  body  of  the  animal. 
The  head  we  could  not  see.  The  widest  part  of 
the  brute  did  not  exceed  seven  feet,  and  it  re- 
quired but  a  glance  to  know  he  was  built  for  a  racer. 

On  we  crept,  our  boats  barely  moving,  until  we 
were  near  enough  for  effective  use  of  the  lances. 
We  expected  a  swift  run  and  hoped  to  make  it  a 
short  one.  The  harpoons  were  resting  in  their 
crutches  at  the  bows  of  the  boats,  and  each  boat- 
steerer  grasped  his  lance,  awaiting  the  signal  which 
would  insure  concert  of  action. 

**  Now/'  whispered  the  captain. 

Both  lances  entered  the  sides  of  the  beast,  in- 
stantly followed  by  two  harpoons. 


.  Hammerheads  and  Finbacks      249 

"  Stem  all!  "  shouted  both  officers. 

"What  the  blazes!"  gasped  the  captain  a 
second  later. 

M  I  '11  be  guzzled!  "  ejaculated  Mr.  Brown. 

Instead  of  the  whisking  of  the  great  tail  we  had 
expected,  and  the  sudden  rush  for  liberty  confi- 
dently looked  for,  the  animal  remained  perfectly 
quiet.  He  did  not  so  much  as  quiver;  he  was 
stone  dead.  Then,  to  cap  the  climax  of  our  dis- 
appointment, the  captain  announced  in  the  tone  of 
a  man  who  has  been  injured : 

V  I  vum,  the  old  skeezuks  is  goin'  to  sink!  " 

The  small  portion  of  the  back  that  had  before 
shown  above  the  water  had  gone  down,  and  the 
whale  was  fast  settling  away  before  our  eyes. 

Turns  were  at  once  taken  around  the  loggerheads 
in  both  boats,  in  the  hope  of  holding  the  whale  up 
with  the  lines;  but  he  proved  too  heavy  and  the 
ropes  were  gradually  eased  as  he  sank. 

"  Guess  we  can't  hold  'im  up,  but  mebbe  he  won't 
go  very  deep,  or  the  wind  may  come  up  and  git  the 
brig  down  here.  I  kinder  want  'im  now  we  're 
fast,"  the  captain  advised  us.  "  We  '11  wait  a  spell 
anyway,  and  see  what  '11  happen." 

So  we  sat  in  our  boats  slowly  slacking  out  the 
lines  and  watching  the  receding  finback. 

I  do  not  know  how  deep  the  whale  was  before 
he    finally   passed    from    sight.     In    midocean    the 


250  On  Board  a  Whaler 

water  is  almost  as  colorless  as  air,  and,  with  the 
eyes  placed  near  to  its  surface,  it  is  possible  to  dis- 
tinguish objects  at  considerable  depth.  One  tub- 
ful  of  our  line  and  part  of  the  other  had  slipped 
down  over  the  bow  before  he  finally  faded  from 
our  view. 

As  we  thus  sat,  hoping  against  hope,  that  some- 
thing would  occur  to  save  the  whale  to  us,  Jim 
opened  conversation  with  the  captain: 

"Did  yeh  ever  know  Mart  Snow,  sir?"  he 
began. 

"  Ust  to  live  up  'round  New  Bedford,  and  sailed 
once  in  the  R.  L.  Barstow  ?  " 

'*  Ye-ah." 

"  Ye-ah,  I  know  him.     What  about  'im  ?  " 

"  Wa-al,  jest  before  we  left,  he  was  tellin'  us  a 
yarn  about  one  o'  these  whales." 

"  Uh-huh,  I  know.  He  wa'n't  slow,  s'pose  yeh 
tell  it." 

"  Wa-al,  Mart  said  that  one  time  they  got  on  to 
one  of  'em,  jest  as  we  did  jest  now,  but,  instead  of 
sendin'  their  lances  into  him,  as  we  did,  they 
chucked  an  iron  into  'im  from  one  boat. 

"  Wal,  suh,  Mart  said  that  whale  jest  lit  out  like  a 
streak,  and  in  less  than  ten  minutes  they  was  out 
of  sight  o'  the  ship  and  still  a-goin'.  He  said  they 
actually  did  n't  see  a  thing  o'  that  whale  after  they 
struck  'im ;  and  the  spray  from  the  boat  was  that 


Hammerheads  and  Finbacks      251 

dummed  fine  it  looked  like  steam,  and  in  fifteen 
minutes  the  nails  was  drawin'  out  of  the  bottom  o' 
the  blamed  boat.  The  water  ketched  under  the 
nail-heads  and  yanked  'em  square  out,  the  whale 
went  so,  and,  by  gum,  they  had  to  cut  and  let  the 
critter  go,  to  save  the  boat.  Them  nails  was  jest 
bein'  pulled  clean  out  of  the  bottom  of  the  boat  and 
they  had  to  let  go  or  go  to  the  dogs." 

At  the  end  of  this  story  Jim  settled  back,  looking 
satisfied. 

H  That  hain't  bad,"  said  the  captain,  "  but  that 
whale  wa'n't  nowhere  'longside  o'  the  fust  one  I 
saw.  Wonder  if  I  've  ever  told  yeh  about  the  fin- 
back we  struck  off  o'  Pete's  Island,  when  I  was 
steerin'  a  boat  ?     Don't  believe  I  have,  have  I  ?  " 

"  Don't  remember  it,  if  yeh  have,"  responded 
Jim. 

M  Thought  mebbe  I  had  n't.  Wa-al,  it  '11  do  to 
foller  Mart's. 

'•  We  'd  been  into  Pete's  all  day  and  come 
aboard  at  night  to  stand  out,  the  way  we  gen'ally 
do  'round  them  islands.  Pete  had  another  wife 
in  them  days.  She  was  a  stunner,  too,  and  no 
mistake.  Pete  himself  was  a  leetle  mite  stingy 
in  them  times,  but  he  's  got  putty  well  over  it 
now,  hain't  'e! —  but  she  was  all  right,  /  tell  yeh. 
She  set  things  up  for  all  hands  in  great  shape,  and 
everybody  come  abroad  that  night  bringin'  a  big 


252  On  Board  a  Whaler 

bottle  o'  palm  juice,  besides  all  he  could  take  away 
under  his  hat. 

I  was  feelin'  a  bit  cur'ous,  and,  soon  's  we  got 
underway,  turned  into  my  bunk.  It  seemed  to  me 
I  had  n't  got  to  sleep,  when  some  feller  come  a- 
hollerin'  down  the  gangway: 

All  hands  on   deck.     There    's   a    school   o* 
whales  right  'longside.' 

■■  Of  course,  I  hustled  out  and  got  on  deck  quick 
time,  pullin'  on  my  breeches  as  I  went,  and  sure 
enough,  not  half  a  mile  off,  there  they  was,  waitin' 
for  us  to  come  and  pick  'em  up. 

"  Down  we  went,  and  in  two  minutes  the  old 
man  had  me  plum  a-top  of  a  thunderin'  big  one, 
and  I  let  drive  both  irons  into  'im." 

The  narrator  stopped.  '  Here,  Tom,  hold  this, 
and  when  yeh  see  we  're  like  to  go  under  water, 
kinder  slack  it  off." 

I  took  the  line,  and  he  lit  his  pipe,  took  several 
whiffs  to  insure  its  going,  packed  the  tobacco  well 
into  the  bowl  with  his  thumb,  and  resumed  his  story : 

44  Wa-al,  suh,  that  whale  lit  right  out  for  South 
Ameriky — p'inted  straight  out  a-flukin'.  We  had 
n't  more  'n  got  started  afore  the  old  man  yelled  to 
me  to  cut;  but  things  was  so  mighty  unstiddy  by 
that  time  that  I  could  n't  cut  the  line  quick  enough 
to  suit,  and  he  slashed  it  clost  up  to  the  loggerhead 
himself. 


Hammerheads  and  Finbacks      253 

He  could  n't  a  done  a  meaner  thing,  or  a  wuss 
thing.  That  dummed  line  come  the  length  of  that 
boat  and  snapped  the  bow  oarsman  clean  off  his 
seat,  and  the  poor  fellow  went  thrashin'  past  me 
and  the  next  thing  I  see  there  wa'  n't  nothin'  left  o' 
'im  but  his  coat,  that  had  ketched  in  the  chock  with 
the  end  of  that  line  twisted  'round  it  sost  it  could 
n't  git  through,  and  there  we  was  goin'  it  faster  'n 
ever. 

Cut  that  line,  you  d d  fool! '  the  old  man 

yelled  at  me  again. 

But  I  could  n't  no  more  take  my  hands  off  o' 
the  sides  of  that  boat  than  I  could  have  gone  to 
heaven  on  an  oar. 

'  Wa-al,  now,  yeh  better  b'lieve  we  was  goin'  for 
all  there  was  out.  Talk  about  spray  lookin'  like 
steam  !  There  wa'  n't  no  spray  to  look.  That  boat 
did  n't  tech  the  water  once  in  four  hundr'd  milds. 
Gee  whiz-zip!  She  stood  up  and  skipped  five  or 
ten  degrees  ev'ry  jump — never  tetched  a  thing  but 
the  keel,  and  that  mighty  seldom.  The  water 
under  us  was  so  durned  hot  it  smoked — 't  wa'  n't 
steam,  't  was  smoke.  In  two  minutes  that  keel  was 
scraped  to  dust,  and  there  wa'  n't  nothing  but  water 
sizzlin'  under  us.  You  jest  could  n't  look  at  the 
stuff  it  whizzed  by  so  fast — it  made  me  sick  jest  to 
look  at  it. 

"  Thinks    I,  things   can't   last   this  way,    and   I 


254  On  Board  a  Whaler 

made  up  my  mind  to  git  a  holt  on  that  line  some- 
way or  bust.  I  wa'  n't  a  bit  too  soon,  nuther.  I 
made  a  dive  and  ketched  a  holt  of  it,  and  then  that 
dummed  boat  jest  melted  away  from  under  me,  and 
left  me  skinnin'  along  top  o'  the  water  after  the 
whale.  'T  wa'  n't  no  time  at  all  after  that  afore  I 
made  out  the  mouth  of  the  Amazon  River  straight 
ahead  of  us,  and  I  got  hoping  the  blamed  critter 
would  run  in  there  and  I  would  git  'im  yit." 

The  captain  paused,  loosened  the  tobacco  in  his 
pipe  with  a  penknife,  leaned  back  with  a  knee  be- 
tween his  palms,  and  smoked  a  minute  complacently 
before  beginning  again : 

"  You  can  believe  me  or  not,  just  as  you  darned 
please,  but  when  we  come  to  where  I  could  see  the 
priests  jest  startin'  out  to  say  mass — right  up  clost 
to  one  of  them  big  stone  churches  they  have  there 
— what  does  that  blasted  whale  do  but  raise  !  Yes 
siree,  he  did !  He  raised  right  up  and  went  like  a 
deuced  bird,  a-kitin'  clean  over  to  t'  other  side  of 
that  continent,  suh. 

"  Mebbe  I  might  let  yeh  look  at  the  scars  that  I 
got  on  my  knees  grazin'  the  top  of  them  Andes  as 
we  sailed  over  'em,  if  I  had  a  mind  to — I  did  n't 
save  the  holes  they  ripped  out  of  my  trousers  as  they 
scratched  out — but  I  guess  I  won't. 

"  Never  saw  them  mountains,  did  yeh,  any  of 
yeh  ?      They   're  putty  well   up,    I    tell   yeh,  and 


Hammerheads  and  Finbacks      255 

't  was  about  all  old  finny  wanted  to  do  to  climb  over 
'em,  if  he  was  flyin',  and  he  come  mighty  clost  to 
droppin'  me  on  this  side,  as  't  was.  But  I  hung  on 
to  him  and  he  took  me  over  fair. 

u  Wa-al,  as  I  was  sayin',  I  went  with  'im,  clean 
over  to  t'  other  side,  and  there  happened  to  be  a 
humpback  over  there.  Dunno  whether  you  've  ever 
run  acrost  one  o'  them  whales  or  not.  It  don't 
matter,  anyhow,  whether  yeh  have  or  not.  They  've 
got  a  head  on  'em  that  opens  on  top,  and  it  's 
about  big  enough  to  take  in  a  ship,  if  she  was  jest 
p'inted  right  for  'em.  Their  upper  jaws  look  like 
scoop  shovels  wrong  side  up,  and  the  under  ones 
is  a  dang  sight  like  'em,  only  bigger.  Wa-al,  one 
of  them  whales  was  over  there  scoopin'  herrin's  in 
by  the  cart  load  for  breakfast  or  supper — I  forgit 
the  time  o'  day  we  arrived — and  must  have  had  his 
mouth  jest  ready  to  take  in  a  big  scoop,  when, 
sure  's  you  're  a  foot  high,  that  finback  streaked  it 
right  square  down  that  old  humpback's  gullet, 
quicker  than  scat.  Yeh  could  n't  a  said  '  Jack 
Robinson,'  afore  he  was  in  clear  out  of  sight. 

"  There  did  n't  appear  to  be  no  room  for  me  in 
there,  so  I  let  go  of  the  line  and  slipped  up  on  to 
the  back  of  the  critter.  You  see,  the  finback  was 
conside'ble  longer  than  the  humpback,  and  in 
gittin'  inside  he  must  have  sort  of  doubled  up  and 
raised  the  back  of  the  old  humpback  some — any- 


256  On  Board  a  Whaler 

how,  when  I  got  up  there,  there  I  was,  slick  and  dry 
as  yeh  please." 

The  captain  stopped  short,  and  one  of  the  boys 
gasped : 

M  How — how  did  yeh  git  off,  sir  ?  " 

The  captain  smiled  blandly. 

M  Oh,  I  rolled  over  and  took  another  swig  at  that 
bottle,  and  dreamed  of  suthin'  else  the  rest  of  that 
watch,  my  lad." 

"  Hullo!  There  's  two  lines  and  two  irons  gone 
to  bungy  jest  for  an  old  skeleton  that  wa'  n't  wuth 
skinnin'." 

The  lines  were  exhausted  and  there  was  no  longer 
any  hope  of  saving  our  finback,  so  we  rowed  back 
to  the  brig. 

In  the  dog  watch  that  evening,  when  the  boys 
had  gathered  about  the  windlass  for  their  usual 
talks,  Jack  spoke  up : 

M  The  old  man  's  putty  fair  on  a  yarn,  hain't  'e  ? 
But  then,  that  was  nuthin'  but  moonshine.  I  can 
tell  yeh  one  that  's  a  fact,  and  it  's  about  a  finback, 
too.  I  know  it  's  a  fact  cuzz  the  feller  that  told  it 
to  me  was  there  and  seen  it  himself — said  he  did. 
He  ust  to  sail  out  of  New  Bedford  afore  the  Ala- 
bamy  got  to  play  in'  the  dickens  so,  and  they  come 
up  with  an  old  finback  once  and  took  a  notion  to 
hook  on  to  'im.  He  did  n't  see  'em,  and  they  got 
on  to  'im  and  afore  he  knowed  a  thing  about  'em, 


Hammerheads  and  Finbacks      257 

chugged  two  irons  home — same  's  we  done,  only 
that  old  feller  wa'  n't  no  slow  poke  like  our'n. 

"  Talk  about  greased  lightening  and  flyin'  over 
mountains!  Huh!  Jiminy — birds  wa!  n't  nowhere 
with  that  whale.  The  minute  they  struck  him  he 
was  jest  gone,  that  's  all.  They  never  so  much  as 
see  the  smoke  of  'im,  after  them  irons  left  the  boat. 
He  did  n't  leave  a  ripple.  There  was  a  flash,  and 
that  was  all. 

"The  old  man  commenced  cussin'  the  boat-steerer 
for  missin'  the  durned  thing  —  said  he  'd  break 
suthin'  besides  his  job  for  'im  if  he  could  n't  do 
better  'n  that,  and  was  goin'  it  high,  when  they 
thought  to  haul  in  the  line.  Wa-al,  suh,  then  come 
the  cur'ous  part  of  it.  There  wa'  n't  no  iron  on  the 
dummed  line  at  all.  That  whale  had  started  to  go 
so  plaguey  quick  that  he  'd  jest  snapped  that  line 
clean  off,  without  so  much  as  startin'  the  boat. 
Yes,  suh.  He  went  so  darned  sudden  that  the  line 
did  n't  have  time  to  follow  afore " 

A  bucketful  of  water  doused  over  the  head  of  the 
speaker  here  interrupted  him. 

"  Aw  now,  sonny !  That  's  no  way  to  do.  I  was 
givin'  yeh  straight  goods  and  a  yard  wide.  But 
you  fellers  don't  know  how  to  appreciate  me,  no- 
how," said  Jack,  after  shaking  himself. 

I  was  never  able  to  determine  how  much  of  the 
reputation  of  the  finback  whale  for  speed  has  been 


258  On  Board  a  Whaler 

built  upon  such  stories  as  these.  We  saw  a  num- 
ber of  them  afterwards,  but  were  never  again  foolish 
enough  to  lower  for  them. 

I  can  explain  the  incident  with  the  particular 
whale  we  struck  only  upon  the  theory  that  upon  the 
instant  when  we  reached  him  he  was  about  to  die 
from  natural  causes.  The  animal  was  undoubtedly 
alive  a  few  seconds  before,  for  he  breathed  heav- 
ily in  our  hearing  and  sight;  but  there  was  no 
movement  of  his  body  after  the  lances  were  thrown. 
It  is  not  probable  that,  even  if  both  the  lances  and 
harpoons  had  entered  the  heart  of  the  whale,  the 
instant  dissolution  we  saw  would  have  resulted.  It 
is  more  reasonable  to  suppose  that  we  happened 
upon  a  death  scene;  and  that  our  lines  and  irons 
would  have  been  saved  to  us  but  for  our  too  prompt 
arrival. 


CHAPTER    XXIV 

WE   SEE  A  GRAMPUS  AND   STRIKE  A  SPERM  WHALE 

IT  may  have  been  two  weeks  later  that  we  hove  to 
and  lashed  our  wheel  to  ride  out  a  moderate 
gale.  A  merchantman  would  have  carried  her  can- 
vas and  gone  in  some  discomfort  upon  her  way. 
But  there  was  nothing  to  be  gained  by  us  in  rapid 
sailing.  We  were  whalers  on  whaling  grounds,  and 
there  was  no  object  in  submitting  to  be  drenched. 
The  sky  was  overcast,  the  sea  ran  high,  the  masts 
jerked  and  swung  in  a  manner  to  keep  the  lookout 
awake.  The  air  was  misty  and  full  of  flying  spray. 
In  short,  the  day  was  unpleasant  and  dreary. 

I  had  been  perched  at  the  masthead  for  an  hour 
when  my  eye  was  caught  by  a  splash  some  miles 
from  us  that  seemed  out  of  the  common.  It  was 
fully  a  minute  after  that  before  anything  more  of  it 
could  be  made  out.  Then  a  whale,  about  the  size 
of  and  shaped  much  like  a  killer,  but  minus  the 
great  back  fin,  leaped  clear  of  the  water  and  disap- 
peared in  a  graceful  dive. 

259 


260  On  Board  a  Whaler 

"  There  she  bree-ee-eeches!  "  I  screamed. 

The  usual  inquiries  and  answers  followed  and 
everybody  was  on  the  watch  for  a  sight  of  the  ani- 
mal. It  was  not  long  before  he  again  came  flying 
into  the  air,  now  much  nearer  than  before,  and  sank 
away  in  the  same  smooth  dive. 

The  captain  left  the  rigging  into  which  he  had 
climbed,  and  I  heard  him  say : 

"  There  hain't  no  use  botherin'  with  that  feller. 
He  's  makin'  his  passage,  and  will  be  clean  gone 
afore  we  can  git  a  boat  down." 

A  moment  later  the  animal  sprang  into  the  air 
less  than  a  fourth  of  a  mile  away  from  us,  his  entire 
body  going  several  feet  above  the  water  and  pass- 
ing so  fully  his  length,  before  he  dipped  again  back 
into  the  sea.  He  was  as  agile  and  light  as  a  flying 
fish,  carrying  his  tons  with  as  much  apparent  ease. 

"  What  was  that,  sir  ? "  I  heard  Frank  inquire  of 
Mr.  Bowman,  who  had  mounted  to  the  other  mast- 
head. 

"  Oh,  that  's  nothin'  but  a  grampus." 

"  Wa-al,  he  's  a  hummer,  anyway." 

"  'Bout  as  good  as  they  make,  I  guess." 

It  is  difficult  accurately  to  measure  distances  by 
the  eye  alone  in  an  open  sea,  and  especially  so  in  a 
gale.  But  it  is  probable  that  whale  was  three  miles 
from  me  when  I  first  saw  him.  From  that  point  he 
passed  to  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  the  brig, 


Grampus  and  Sperm  Whale       261 

and  thence  straight  on  out  of  sight  on  the  other 
side  of  us  in  something  like  twenty  minutes.  While 
doing  so  he  made  five  or  six  such  leaps  as  have 
been  described.  If  the  finback  can  equal  the  per- 
formance of  that  grampus,  the  yarns  told  about  his 
speed  have  some  basis  of  truth. 

My  time  at  the  masthead  had  not  expired,  and 
the  lookout  was  resumed,  but  with  a  feeling  that 
the  day  was  over.  We  did  not  expect  to  see  more 
than  one  lot  of  whales  in  a  single  day ;  but  we  had 
no  more  than  settled  back  to  look  further,  before 
Frank  asked : 

"  Did  yeh  see  anything,  Tom  ?  M 

"No.     Where?" 

"  Thought  I  saw  suthin'  right  over  theer,  but  it 's 
gone.     No,  *t  airit  !  " 

The  familiar  cry  on  raising  a  whale  rang  out,  not 
alone  from  Frank,  but  all  over  the  brig.  Not  a 
hundred  yards  from  us,  the  grayish-brown  head  of 
an  enormous  sperm  whale  was  rising  from  the  water. 
Up,  up  it  rose,  until  the  little  eye  of  the  animal 
could  be  plainly  seen,  and  there,  with  his  head  fully 
thirty  feet  out  of  the  waves,  he  stood  for  some  sec- 
onds inspecting  the  brig.  Then,  with  ponderous 
slowness,  the  whale  sank  out  of  sight. 

The  order  to  man  the  boats  reached  me,  and  I 
hurried  to  the  deck.  On  reaching  my  place,  Jim 
said  to  me,  with  much  elation: 


262  On  Board  a  Whaler 

"  I  'm  goin'  to  take  'er,  Tom,  and  you  're  to  steer 
me;  so  you  git  into  the  head  o*  the  boat,  there." 

In  view  of  the  bad  weather,  the  captain  had  con- 
cluded to  act  himself  as  ship  keeper. 

A  green  man  was  to  pull  my  oar;  I  was  to  act 
as  boat-steerer ;  and  Jim  was  to  take  command  of 
the  boat.  No  time  was  lost  in  effecting  these 
changes. 

In  the  high-running  sea,  caution  was  required  in 
launching  the  boats.  A  whale-boat  once  launched 
will  ride  almost  any  sea,  but  it  will  not  bear  much 
bumping  on  the  sides  of  the  ship.  So  we  were 
rather  slow  about  getting  away.  At  last,  the  con- 
ditions were  right,  and  we  dropped  our  boat  safely 
upon  the  water.  Then,  having  first  set  the  harpoon 
crutch  in  place  and  rested  the  irons  upon  it,  I  took 
my  seat  on  the  foremost  thwart  and  worked  at  an 
oar  with  the  others. 

It  would  be  only  by  chance  that  we  could  hope 
to  keep  track  of  the  whale  or  to  find  him  without 
aid  from  the  brig.  In  so  rough  a  sea  we  might  run 
within  twenty  feet  of  the  animal,  almost,  without 
discovering  him,  for  it  was  only  when  raised  to  the 
top  of  some  wave  that  we  could  see  more  than  a  few 
feet  from  us,  and  then  but  for  a  few  seconds.  It 
is  usual,  under  such  circumstances,  in  locating  the 
game,  to  depend  largely  upon  signals  from  the 
masthead  of  the  ship.     So,  after  getting  well  clear 


Grampus  and  Sperm  Whale       263 

of  the  brig,  we  rested  on  our  oars  for  a  few  minutes, 
waiting  such  help  to  find  the  whale. 

No  signals  being  given,  Jim  became  impatient 
and  ordered  us  to  pull. 

For  some  time  we  rowed  steadily  away  from  the 
vessel,  Jim  standing  nervously  on  his  tiptoes  and 
stretching  his  neck  high  at  the  top  of  each  wave, 
and  then  looking  knowingly  at  us  as  we  settled 
down  into  the  troughs,  until  we  had  gone  so  far 
from  the  brig  that  if  signals  had  been  made  to  us 
we  would  hardly  have  been  able  to  make  them  out. 

Mr.  Bowman  had  followed  close  after  us  in  his 
boat,  and  presently  we  heard  him  call  to  Jim : 

M  How  long  is  it  sence  you  saw  'im  ?  " 

*'  I  hain't  seen  'im  at  all,"  Jim  shouted  back. 

"  What  in  blazes  are  yeh  doin'  out  here  for, 
then  ? " 

"Tryin'  to  find  that  whale,"  said  Jim  confidently. 

**  Wa-al,  then  I  guess  we  've  missed  'im,  and  all 
on  account  o'  your  dummed  pig-headedness,  too," 
the  mate  grumbled  loudly.  "  I  s'posed  of  course 
you  'd  seen  'im,  and  so  I  follered  yeh,  dog-gone 
the  luck!  " 

We  learned  afterwards  that  nobody  on  the  brig 
had  seen  the  whale  after  the  boats  were  lowered, 
but  the  second  mate  had  caught  sight  of  him,  and, 
while  we  were  quarrelling  a  mile  away,  was  vainly 
endeavoring  to  overtake  him. 


264  On  Board  a  Whaler 

The  outlook  for  us  was  dubious  enough.  A  mo- 
ment before  I  had  been  in  ecstasy  over  my  chance 
to  strike  a  sperm  whale.  It  had  seemed  the  oppor- 
tunity of  a  lifetime  and  I  was  eager  to  grasp  it ;  and 
now,  through  Jim's  stupid  blunder,  it  had  gone. 
My  heart  was  sunk  in  bitterness,  and  I  was  about 
to  hurl  my  invectives  at  my  superior,  when  he 
gasped : 

M  Gosh,  Tom— git  up  I  " 

I  sprang  to  my  feet  and  caught  up  an  iron. 
Right  in  front  of  the  boat,  deep  in  the  trough  of 
the  sea  into  which  we  were  descending,  was  the 
largest  whale  I  had  ever  seen  —  not  the  whale  we 
had  come  out  after,  but  a  better  one.  That  one 
had  a  grayish-brown  head ;  this  head  was  mottled 
with  white. 

A  numbness  came  creeping  over  me.  For  an  in- 
stant, I  seemed  to  be  suffocating.  My  head  swam 
and  my  balance  was  uncertain. 

"  Give  it  to  'im,  Tom,"  shrieked  Jim. 

At  the  sound  of  the  voice,  my  head  was  clear 
again.  I  drew  a  long  breath,  and,  pausing  just 
long  enough  to  take  a  sure  aim,  sent  my  harpoon 
straight  into  the  hump  of  the  beast.  The  wave  set- 
tled from  under  the  boat,  bringing  us  on  a  level 
with  the  animal,  and  there  I  pushed  the  second  iron 
to  its  pole  into  his  side. 

M  Stern  all !  "  roared  Jim, 


Grampus  and  Sperm  Whale      265 

The  boat  was  rising  on  the  next  wave  before  the 
fluke  rose,  half  filling  our  boat  with  its  great  swash, 
and  then  the  whale  dived,  taking  our  line  whizzing 
after  him. 

"  Bully!  I  knowed  you  was  all  right,  Tom.  I 
told  the  old  man  you  could  do  it,"  Jim  shouted, 
exultantly,  as  the  whale  disappeared  in  the  depths. 

A  large  sperm  whale  will  breathe  fifty  or  sixty 
times  in  the  course  of  ten  or  twelve  minutes,  and  is 
then  able  to  wander  for  an  hour  or  more  on  the  bot- 
tom of  the  sea.  The  whale  we  had  struck  must 
have  thus  prepared  himself,  for  it  was  an  hour  and 
twenty  minutes  after  he  took  his  plunge  before  we 
heard  from  him  again — an  hour  of  most  decided 
anxiety  and  discomfort  for  us  all. 

On  all  the  other  occasions  when  we  had  chased 
whales  the  rest  following  this  first  dive  had  been 
welcome.  It  had  enabled  us  to  recover  from  our 
exhaustion  and  given  time  to  cool  our  overheated 
bodies.  We  had  usually  tugged  at  the  oars  under 
a  blazing  sun  until  our  blood  was  at  the  boiling 
point,  after  which  we  had  greatly  enjoyed  the  still 
hot,  but  balmy  air.  We  had  always  found  comfort 
in  splashing  the  cool  water  over  our  wrists  and 
bodies  and  had  never  been  especially  in  a  hurry  for 
the  whale  to  come  up. 

Now,  it  was  all  very  different.  Instead  of  com- 
ing out  under  a  hot  sun,  we  had  been  rowing  in  a 


266  On  Board  a  Whaler 

chilling  storm  of  wind  and  rain,  under  cold,  gray 
clouds.  The  exercise  had  started  our  perspiratory 
glands  to  work,  but  we  found  nothing  but  torture 
in  the  pelting  rain  and  spray  that  soaked  our 
clothes  and  trickled  down  our  backs.  The  wind, 
whistling  dismally  around  us,  precluded  anything 
like  general  conversation,  and  we  sat  humped  up 
on  our  seats  throughout  those  eighty  minutes,  dis- 
tracted and  miserable. 

This  whale,  although  he  remained  down  a  long 
time,  did  not  dive  very  deep;  and,  before  the  first 
tub  had  been  emptied  of  its  line,  we  had  success- 
fully nipped  it.  After  that,  with  a  good  turn 
around  the  loggerhead,  we  floated  about  here  and 
there,  while  the  whale  wandered  hither  and  thither 
beneath  us.  It  was  seemingly  many  hours  that  we 
thus  waited  for  our  whale.  Then  the  line  began  to 
move  out  in  front  of  the  boat,  became  suddenly 
taut,  and  we  started  on  a  moderately  swift  run  to 
windward. 

As  soon  as  we  commenced  to  follow  in  the  wake 
of  the  animal,  Mr.  Bowman  threw  us  his  boat  warp, 
which  was  made  fast  to  our  loggerhead,  and  both 
boats  were  off  in  tow  of  the  whale. 

The  beast  carried  no  flag  and  blew  no  whistle  to 
inform  us  of  his  whereabouts,  and  it  was  a  long 
time  after  we  were  fully  under  way  before  we  caught 
sight  of  him.     It  was  only  when  both  he  and  the 


Grampus  and  Sperm  Whale       267 

boats  were  near  the  summit  of  some  great  wave  at 
the  identical  moment  that  we  could  see  him  at  all, 
and  often  minutes  would  elapse  with  no  such  coin- 
cidence. His  breathing,  like  that  of  all  sperm 
whales,  was  slow,  and,  in  such  a  sea,  his  spouting 
could  be  easily  mistaken  for  a  bit  of  spray.  When 
we  did  catch  glimpses  of  him  it  was  always  when 
his  head  was  towering  above  the  waves  in  one  of  his 
lunging  leaps  away  from  us,  buffeting  the  sea  into 
great  rolls  of  foam. 

As  we  started  behind  the  whale,  the  brig  was  still 
in  sight.  We  could  occasionally  see  her  topsail,  and 
once  in  a  while  we  could  even  make  out  her  hull. 
But  within  a  few  minutes  we  lost  all  sight  of  her. 

For  some  time  we  hauled  hand  over  hand  upon 
our  line,  hoping  to  draw  ourselves  near  enough  to 
the  whale  to  shoot  him ;  but  at  the  end  of  an  hour 
had  gained  less  than  half  the  distance  necessary  to 
our  purpose.  The  sea,  the  gale,  and  the  velocity 
of  the  whale  all  worked  against  us. 

At  last,  the  gathering  darkness  warned  us  of  the 
approaching  night,  and  Mr.  Bowman  called  to  us 
from  behind : 

"  I  guess  yeh  '11  have  to  cut,  Jim.'* 

I  had  changed  ends  in  the  boat  with  Jim,  and 
was  at  the  stern,  where  I  could  hear  the  mate.  Jim, 
at  the  bow,  raised  a  hand  to  his  ear,  striving  to 
catch  the  words.     I  passed  the  order  on  to  him : 


268  On  Board  a  Whaler 

"  He  thinks  we  '11  have  to  cut,"  I  shouted. 

"  Can't  we  hold  on  a  minute  longer?  Tell  'im 
I  b'lieve  the  old  cuss  is  slackin'  some  now,"  came 
back  to  me  on  the  wind  and  was  sent  back  to  the 
mate. 

Mr.  Bowman  settled  back  on  his  seat,  and  for 
half  an  hour  longer  we  sped  on  in  silence,  the  other 
boat  becoming  more  and  more  indistinct  in  the  dark- 
ness behind  us.  Then  the  mate  put  his  hands  to 
his  mouth  and  bawled  at  us: 

"  Cut  that  line!" 

"  The  mate  says  cut"  I  screamed  to  Jim. 

Jim  put  his  hand  again  to  his  ear,  but  feigned 
not  to  hear. 

"  Cut — cut,"  I  repeated.     M  The  mate  says  cut," 

Jim  came  slowly  to  the  stern  of  the  boat,  where 
he  could  talk  directly  with  Mr.  Bowman. 

"  I  b'lieve  we  can  git ,"  he  began. 

"  Cut  — yeh  blasted  fool,  cut!  CUT!  Keep 
your  consarned  gab  for  somebody  who  wants  it — 
cut,  you  blamed  idiot!  "  the  mate  bellowed  in  fury. 

"  He's  boss,  or  darned  if  I'd  do  it,"  Jim 
growled  to  me. 

'■  Well,  he  's  right"  I  snapped  in  answer. 

So  far  as  I  know,  no  note  had  been  taken  of  our 
course  after  leaving  the  brig;  and  I  felt  by  no 
means  sure  we  could  find  her  again  in  the  dark.  If 
the  wind  had  not  shifted,  and  a  fire  were  to  be  built 


Grampus  and  Sperm  Whale       269 

on  the  vessel  to  assist  us,  it  would  not  be  difficult 
to  find  our  way  back,  for  we  had  come  directly  to 
windward  all  the  way ;  but  who  could  tell  whether 
the  wind  had  shifted !  To  pass  even  one  night  in 
that  storm,  dressed  as  we  were  and  in  an  open  boat, 
was  not  a  cheering  prospect.  My  sympathies  were 
wholly  with  the  mate  and  against  Jim. 

Jim  muttered  something  that  did  not  reach  me, 
and  went  slowly  back  to  the  bow.  There  he  fum- 
bled for  a  long  time,  pretending  to  look  for  the  boat 
hatchet  with  which  to  cut  the  line.  It  was  very 
hard  for  Jim  to  abandon  this,  his  first  chance  to  kill 
a  whale;  but  at  last,  after  the  rumble  of  the  mate's 
voice,  shouting  oaths  that  cannot  be  echoed  here, 
must  have  reached  him,  the  line  was  cut  and  the 
whale  was  free. 

Then  we  cast  off  the  warp  of  the  mate's  boat  from 
our  loggerhead ;  Jim  resumed  the  steering  of  our 
boat ;  and  I  went  back  to  the  bow  to  pull  my  oar. 
The  wind  was  too  strong  to  allow  of  setting  up  the  sail. 

"  Bowman  's  gittin'  to  be  more  and  more  an  old 
granny  ev'ry  day  he  lives,"  Jim  enlightened  us,  a 
minute  later.  "  He  's  gittin'  too  old  to  go  whalin', 
anyhow." 

The  mate  swung  his  boat  broadside  to  the  gale 
and  started  off. 

"  Where  yeh  going  ?  "  Jim  cried,  fully  confirmed 
in  his  notion  that  Mr.  Bowman  was  mentally  failing. 


270  On  Board  a  Whaler 

"  Goin'  aboard,"  was  the  gruff  reply. 

"  Not  that  way,  yeh  won't,"  shouted  Jim,  turn- 
ing his  own  boat  squarely  around,  to  head  with  the 
wind.     "  The  brig  's  off  here"  he   insisted. 

In  a  moment  the  boats  had  drifted  almost  out  of 
sight  of  each  other,  but  we  could  hear  the  mate 
bellow : 

"  Come  back  here,  you  d d  blockhead!  " 

11  True  as  you  'r  born,  he  's  out  of  his  head,"  Jim 
declared,  but  laid  our  boat  alongside  the  other  one. 

"  What  in  hell  's  the  matter  with  you  ?"  the 
mate  demanded. 

"  Nothin'  's  the  matter,  only  I  don't  see  no 
use  stayin'  out  here  after  we  've  cut,"  said  Jim 
boldly. 

4<  Wa-al,  that  \y  a of  a  note,  that  is.     You 

ust  to  have  some  sense  once,  but  yeh  seem  to  have 

gone  daft  all  of  a  sudden.     Where  in was 

yeh  goin'  jest  now,  anyhow  ? " 

"  I  was  goin'  to  the  brig,"  Jim  answered  stoutly, 
M  and  I  'm  darned  if  I  would  n't  like  to  know 
where  you  think  you  was  goin'  to." 

"  So  yeh  think  she  's  straight  to  leeward,  do 
yeh  ?  " 

M  I  know  mighty  well  she  's   there,"  said  Jim. 

"  Have  yeh  got  a  compass  aboard  that  boat  ?  " 

Jim's  voice  was  a  trifle  less  confident  as  he  an- 
swered this  question : 


Grampus  and  Sperm  Whale       271 

"  Ye-ye-us,  I  have." 

"  Have  yeh  looked  at  it  sence  yeh  started  ?  " 

"  We  come  dead  to  wind'ard  and  there  wa'  n't  no 
use  lookin'  at  it,"  Jim  replied  hotly,  but  with  some 
trepidation  showing  in  his  tone. 

"  Wa-al,  mebbe  not;  but  that 's  what  compasses 
is  made  for.  The  next  time  you  start  out  in  a  gale 
like  this,  you  'd  better  look  at  your  compass  once 
in  a  while,  jest  to  keep  from  gittin'  lonesome  if 
nothin'  else.  The  wind  was  nor'east,  and  the  brig 
was  astern.  It  's  blowin'  nor'west  by  west,  now ; 
and  the  brig  's  over  here,  you  gump  !  " 

In  the  light  of  his  recently  expressed  opinion  of 
the  mate's  condition,  this  information  was  un- 
doubtedly galling  to  Jim. 

"  Pull  ahead,  boys.  I  s'pose  we  '11  have  to  do 
as  he  says;  but  it  's  mighty  onsartain  whether  we 
ever  see  the  brig  ag'in  to-night,"  he  growled. 

In  a  half-hearted  way  we  bent  to  our  oars,  but,  as 
the  exercise  started  our  blood  to  flowing,  we  recov- 
ered courage  and  sent  the  boat  along  at  a  lively 
pace.  In  less  than  an  hour  Jim  called  to  the  mate, 
while  he  pointed  to  a  reddish  blush  on  the  horizon 
ahead, 

"  There  she  is,  sir." 

"  /know  it.  Saw  it  ten  minutes  ago,"  the  mate 
answered  contemptuously. 

The  men  on  the  brig  were  doing  their  best    to 


272 


On  Board  a  Whaler 


guide  us  home,  and  we  were  soon  back  on  the 
vessel. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  the  old  granny,  anyhow, 
Jim  ?  "  I  heard  Frank  ask  the  next  day. 

"  Go  to  thunder!  "  Jim  replied 


CHAPTER   XXV 

A   SULPHUR   BOTTOM 

THE  last  storm  was  followed  by  weeks  of  a  calm. 
An  ordinary  storm  is  not  always  unwelcome 
to  seamen  on  the  ocean.  Inspiring  the  mind  with 
new  thoughts,  a  storm  affords  relief  from  the  sense 
of  imprisonment  that  is  so  apt  to  accompany  long 
voyages;  it  is  not  all  bad.  But  a  calm  was  never 
welcomed  by  us.  Next  to  a  hurricane,  a  calm  was 
the  misery-maker  of  the  trip.  As  days  followed  days 
without  relief  from  it,  the  desire  to  be  free  amounted 
almost  to  a  mania  with  us.  To  see  the  same  faces, 
the  same  rigging,  the  same  decks,  the  same  sails, 
the  same  sea,  to  smell  the  same  odors  and  do  the 
same  tasks,  week  in  and  week  out,  always  the 
same,  was  intolerable.  It  became  a  life  of  unbear- 
able pain,  with  no  localized  ache — just  a  tantalizing 
misery  from  which  there  was  no  hope  of  escape. 

We  had  been  enduring  that  sort  of  torment  for  some 
weeks,  when  we  found  ourselves  suddenly  enveloped 
in  fog.    In  place  of  glinting  waters,  scorching  decks, 

18 

273 


274  On  Board  a  Whaler 

and  burning  sunbeams,  the  sea  became  dull  and 
gray,  the  decks  were  damp  and  slippery,  there  was 
no  sun,  everything  was  dripping  and  cold.  The 
fog  finally  became  so  thick  that  we  could  not  see 
the  end  of  the  bowsprit;  and  the  officers  on  the 
quarter-deck  could  not  see  a  man  at  the  bow. 

Several  days  went  by  before  the  fog  lifted  suffi- 
ciently to  make  it  worth  while  to  go  to  the  mast- 
head at  all ;  and,  strangely  enough,  no  one  grumbled 
at  the  change  of  weather.  After  so  much  of  glare 
and  heat  the  fog  was  restful. 

At  last  it  cleared  up  enough  to  permit  our  resum- 
ing the  lookout  for  whales,  although  at  times  our 
vision  was  still  limited  to  a  few  yards  about  us,  and 
one  day  I  discovered  from  my  post  aloft,  slightly 
astern  of  the  brig,  what  seemed  to  be  a  sand-bank. 
About  the  same  instant,  Frank  noticed  the  same 
thing,  and  reported  to  Mr.  Bowman : 

"  We  can  see  bottom  off  the  starb'rd  quarter,  sir." 

A  shoal  so  far  out  at  sea  as  we  were  is  unusual, 
and  the  crew  crowded  to  the  side  of  the  vessel  to 
look. 

"  Skoal,  yeh  say!  Wa-al,  that  's  a  putty  lively 
shoal,  that  is!"  the  mate  exclaimed,  greatly  ex- 
cited. 

Our  shoal  had  been  gliding  along  nearer  the  brig 
and  had  developed  into  a  whale  of  such  enormous 
proportions  that  I  scarcely  dare  to  state  them. 


A  Sulphur  Bottom  275 

Slowly,  with  evident  caution,  the  animal  crept 
closer  and  closer,  gradually  rising  as  he  came,  until 
he  was  so  near  that  a  man  diving  from  the  rail 
could  have  readily  reached  his  body ;  and  there  he 
lay  for  some  minutes  apparently  looking  us  over. 

In  color,  he  was  of  a  uniform  yellow,  except  along 
the  middle  of  the  back,  which  was  of  a  yellowish 
brown.  In  general  outline  and  grace  of  form  he 
more  nearly  resembled  the  killers  than  anything 
else  we  had  seen,  but  the  huge  dorsal  fin  was  not 
there,  and  he  seemed  to  have  no  teeth,  while  in  size 
the  killer  was  a  baby  beside  him.  The  head  ended 
in  front  in  a  rounded  point,  from  which  it  gracefully 
swelled  as  it  extended  back  some  twenty-five  or 
thirty  feet,  where  it  attained  a  diameter  of  probably 
twelve  feet.  Still  farther  back,  twenty  or  more 
feet,  the  body  had  reached  a  diameter  of  not  less 
than  fifteen  feet,  from  which  it  tapered  away  on 
elegant,  curving  lines  until  it  joined  the  fluke  away 
behind.  The  fluke,  except  for  its  width  of  perhaps 
fifteen  feet,  was  similar  to  that  of  all  whales.  In 
length,  the  animal  was  not  less  than  a  hundred  feet. 
We  did  not  actually  measure  any  part  of  the  whale, 
but  as  he  lay  alongside  the  brig  we  were  able  to  ap- 
proximate his  dimensions.  The  brig  was  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-seven  feet  long  from  stem  to  stern ; 
and  when  the  fluke  of  the  animal  lay  opposite  the 
stern-rail  the  end  of  his  nose  was  slightly  ahead  of 


276  On  Board  a  Whaler 

our  fore  rigging.  He  was  at  least  twenty  feet  longer 
than  the  largest  sperm  whale  we  came  upon,  and  in 
every  way  more  trim  of  shape. 

It  's  a  sulphur  bottom  "  the  captain  announced 
in  awed  tones. 

Jim  climbed  into  the  captain's  boat,  from  which 
he  could  look  directly  down  upon  the  whale,  and 
commenced  preparing  to  send  a  harpoon  into  the 
monstrous  back. 

"  No!  no,  no,  no-0-0-0.  Don't  poke  that  iron 
into  'im,  you  galoot!"  shouted  Mr.  Bowman. 
"  That  's  wuss  than  useless.  You  can't  hold  that 
whale  with  no  iron.  Yeh  've  got  to  kill  'im  on  the 
spot  or  yeh  '11  never  see  'im  ag'in.  Somebody 
bring  up  the  guns,  here." 

Two  whale  guns  were  quickly  brought  from  the 
cabin,  and  Mr.  Bowman  and  the  captain  stood 
armed  with  them  near  the  bow,  waiting  for  the  sul- 
phur bottom  to  rise  to  the  surface. 

It  seemed  hours  before  the  animal  had  satisfied 
his  curiosity  concerning  the  flipperless,  barnacle- 
covered,  seaweed  -  draped  creature  he  had  come 
across,  and  was  ready  to  take  another  breath  of  life. 
But  at  last,  almost  imperceptibly,  he  commenced 
moving  toward  the  surface,  going  gently  forward 
until  a  broad  expanse  of  brownish-yellow  skin 
broke  from  the  water  alongside  the  brig,  and  then 
both  the  guns  roared  above  it. 


A  Sulphur  Bottom  277 

The  effect  was  immediate  and  marvellous.  No  liv- 
ing creature  could  have  moved  with  greater  celerity. 
It  was  so  sudden  and  so  rapid  that  the  outlines  of 
that  enormous  animal  were  instantly  blotted  out. 
With  one  flash  of  blending  colors  he  was  gone.  No 
shadow  was  ever  more  magically  or  completely  dis- 
pelled. He  simply  disappeared  and  left  us  to 
wonder. 

"  Wa-al  —  wa-al  —  wa-a\\  "  gasped  Frank.  **  By 
gum,  that  beats  light enin  !  " 

The  whale  was  snuffed  out  and  we  never  saw  any- 
thing more  of  him.  It  is  not  probable  he  survived 
the  effect  of  the  two  bombs;  but,  although  we 
searched  in  the  fog  all  day,  we  did  not  succeed  in 
finding  him ;  and  it  is  likely  he  went  a  considerable 
distance  before  he  died. 

The  sulphur  bottom  is  said  to  inhabit  the  Pacific 
coast,  most  commonly  that  of  California,  so  that 
this  specimen  must  have  been  a  wanderer  from  his 
home.  He  is  the  largest  of  the  whale  kind  —  per- 
haps the  largest  animal  the  earth  has  known  in  any 
age ;  and  the  one  we  saw  was  equal  in  size  to  any 
described  in  the  books.  He  is  not  rated  among  the 
fighters  of  the  whale  tribe ;  but,  because  of  his  great 
strength  and  remarkable  agility,  he  was  at  the  time 
of  which  I  write  seldom  taken  by  whalers.  Only 
one  man  of  our  crew  had  ever  assisted  in  a  successful 
attack  upon  one  of  these  monsters.     Mr.  Bowman 


278  On  Board  a  Whaler 

had  been  engaged  in  whaling  for  more  than  forty 
years;  and,  during  that  time,  had  seen  three  of  them 
killed.  His  experience  with  one  of  these  was  told 
to  Frank  and  myself  that  evening. 

Frank,  who  had  charge  of  the  first  night  watch, 
had  come  forward  on  some  pretence,  but  in  fact  to 
talk  with  me.  We  had  been  chatting  a  few  min- 
utes, when  Mr.  Bowman  followed  and  seated  himself 
on  the  windlass  by  us. 

M  I  thought  that  whale  Tom  struck  the  other  day 
was  putty  big;  but  this  one  we  saw  to-day  kinder 
laid  over  'im,"  said  Frank,  intending  to  draw  the 
mate  into  a  story. 

The  mate  chipped  off  a  piece  of  tobacco  with  his 
knife  from  a  plug  and  commenced  chewing  it  before 
making  any  reply.  Then  he  settled  himself  com- 
fortably upon  a  coil  of  rope  on  the  deck  and 
began : 

M  Ye-us.  I  don't  hardly  b'lieve  you  '11  ever  run 
acrost  anything  alive  bigger  than  that  feller  was. 
I  've  seen  sulphur  bottoms  that  was  mighty  clost  to 
him ;  but  I  hain't  never  seen  nothin'  else  that  could 
come  anywheres  nigh  'im  for  bigness.  Take  'im 
all  in  all  he  was  a  rouser,  and  no  mistake  about  it. 
Ye-ah,  that  whale  was  a  buster,  that  's  a  fact." 

M  Did  yeh  ever  kill  one  of  'em  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  We  killed  one  on  my  fust  v'yage;  and  I  've 
helped  kill  two  sence.     Fust  and  last,  I  guess  I  've 


A  Sulphur  Bottom  279 

seen  twenty  or  thirty,  mebbe  more;  but  they  're 
hard  to  take.  It  's  sorter  like  spattin'  a  fly  to  git 
one  of  'em — when  yeh  think  you  're  right  on  to  'im, 
like  as  not  he  won't  be  there.  That  has  be'n  my 
experience  with  'em,  and  so  fur  as  I  can  find  out 
that  's  the  way  with  all  of  'em — they  jest  give  one 
flop  and  they  're  gone.  They  're  the  quickest 
durned  whale  that  floats,  and  the  biggest. 

11  They  can  make  it  mighty  onpleasant  for  yeh, 
too,  when  you  're  fast.  The  fust  one  I  ever  hooked 
to  towed  us  durned  nigh  ten  milds  in  twenty  min- 
utes, after  we  'd  put  two  lances  plum  to  the  poles 
behind  his  flipper  at  that.  He  jest  run  until  he 
died.  The  lances  done  the  business  finally,  and 
when  he  hove  to  he  was  dead. 

M  You  remember  how  you  fellers  got  up  on  to 
that  old  finback  t'  other  day  ?  Wa-al,  't  was  suthin' 
like  that.  We  raised  'im  a  mild  or  two  off  and 
lowered  two  boats  for  'im.  He  was  layin'  asleep — 
seemed  to  be,  anyhow;  and  we  paddled  up  to  'im, 
one  of  us  on  each  side,  same  as  you  did  on  the  fin- 
back, and  let  the  lances  drive  fust,  and  then  our 
boat-steerer  got  his  iron  into  him  solid.  I  was 
pullin'  the  bow  oar  that  time.  Old  Isaiah  Purring- 
ton  was  steerin'  us,  and  he  was  quicker  'n  a  cat, 
anyhow.  The  other  feller  wa'  n't  lively  enough  and 
did  n't  git  fast.  He  missed  and  we  went  off  alone 
with  the  whale. 


280  On  Board  a  Whaler 

**  I  had  the  nippers  on  the  line  afore  the  iron 
fairly  left  the  boat,  to  keep  it  from  bein'  jerked 
clean  away  from  us  afore  't  would  do  to  take  a  turn 
'round  the  loggerhead  with  it.  Yeh  see  I  knew 
them  fellers  had  a  way  of  startin'  so  sudden  that  it 
would  n't  do  to  have  nothin'  fast  nowheres  —  the 
mate  had  told  us  all  about  'em  as  we  come  along, 
and  I  had  my  orders  to  be  ready  with  the  nippers. 
If  anything  was  to  be  fast  the  darned  whale  would 
rip  the  boat  to  bits  in  the  shake  of  your  finger,  sure. 
As  't  was,  he  emptied  one  tub  and  a  good  part  of 
t'  other  one  afore  we  could  git  the  line  where  we 
could  hold  on  to  it,  and  he  had  n't  sounded  nuther. 
He  jest  lit  straight  out  a-top  of  the  water  from  the 
fust  prick  of  that  lance. 

M  Talk  about  finbacks  !  Why,  a  finback  is  jest  a 
snail  alongside  of  one  o'  them  sulphur  bottoms. 
Go! — greased  light'nin'  ain't  a  circumstance,  the 
way  that  whale  went.  I  '11  be  jiggered  if  I  see  how 
that  line  ever  stood  it,  or  the  boat,  nuther.  Gee- 
whiz!  but  how  we  did  go! 

**  Wa-al,  as  I  said  a  minute  ago,  we  went  like 
Geehew  that  way  for  mebbe  twenty  minutes,  and 
then  all  to  wunst  that  old  sulphur  bottom  whirled 
square  'round  and  streaked  it  straight  for  the  boat. 
Hey,  what !  Yessuh,  he  did — he  come  a-flukin'  it 
straight  for  us,  and  if  our  hair  wa'  n't  standin'  on  end 
the  next  few  seconts,  yeh  need  n't  gimme  a  nuther 


A  Sulphur  Bottom  281 

cent.  There  wa'  n't  no  dodgin'  that  feller  —  you 
could  n't  get  out  of  the  way  of  no  sech  flyer  as  he 
was,  and  it  looked  as  if  it  was  all  day  with  us.  If  he 
had  meant  us,  he  'd  have  got  us,  no  two  words  about 
it.  We  could  n't  have  got  an  oar  out  before  he  'd 
have  been  a-top  of  us.  But,  yeh  see,  he  was  jest 
comin'  in  his  flurry,  that  was  all,  and  had  n't  no 
notion  of  botherin'  us. 

"  But  it  looked  so,  and  our  hair  jest  stood  straight 
up  'til  he  got  down  clost  by  where  we  was  —  't 
wa'  n't  no  time,  hardly.  Then  he  takes  a  shoot  sort 
of  sideways,  and  you  may  skin  me  right  here  if  he 
did  n't  go  plum  twenty  foot  out  of  water — that  hull 
darned  whale,  straight  up  clear  of  ev'rything.  It 
was  the  biggest  durned  jump  I  ever  saw  before  or 
sence;  and,  if  there  's  to  be  any  more  of  'em  'round 
me,  I  '11  git  excused  from  bein'  quite  so  clost  as  we 
was,  that  's  all.  A  whale-boat  will  stand  some  con- 
side'ble  sloshin'  around  it,  but  when  that  whale 
come  down  that  time  the  water  jest  swashed  all 
over  us — that  boat  was  jest  swamped ;  and,  I  vum  ! 
if  I  don't  believe  it  showered  there  for  as  much  as 
five  minutes  after  it  was  all  over." 

The  mate  threw  away  his  cud  and  rose  to  go  aft. 

"  So  you  got  him  ?  "  said  Frank. 

"  Ye-us,  that  was  his  last  kick." 

"  Was  he  wuth  much  ?  " 

"  Made  a  hundred  barrels." 


282 


On  Board  a  Whaler 


'■  Do  you  know  how  long  he  was — what  he  meas- 
ured, sir  ?  "  I  ventured  to  ask. 

"  Wa-al,  yes,  I  do.  We  put  the  lines  on  that 
feller  so  's  to  know.  'T  ain't  often  we  git  so  par- 
tic'lar  as  all  that  comes  to,  but  we  did  that  time, 
and  that  whale  measured  by  the  tape  line  ninety- 
four  foot  and  some  inches  from  the  crotch  of  his 
fluke  to  the  p'int  of  his  nose.  He  wa'  n't  so  long  by 
a  conside'ble  as  the  one  that  was  'longside  of  us 
this  mornin',  but  he  was  big  enough  to  make  us 
cur'ous  to  know  jest  how  big  he  was." 


IT  WAS  THE  BIGGEST  DURNED  JUMP  I   EVER  SAW." 


CHAPTER    XXVI 

TATTOOING 

THE  scrimshawing  fad  had  run  its  course,  or  the 
material  to  work  upon  had  become  exhausted, 
shortly  before  we  came  across  the  sulphur  bot- 
tom ;  and,  a  few  days  later,  Nye  produced  a  bottle 
of  India  ink  and  proceeded  to  instruct  us  in 
tattooing. 

The  operation  was  as  simple  as  its  effects  were 
lasting.  The  outline  of  an  intended  picture  was 
first  drawn  with  an  ordinary  pen  upon  the  surface 
to  be  ornamented,  after  which  a  paste  of  the  India 
ink  was  smeared  on  within  the  marked  lines.  Then 
the  ink  was  deeply  pricked  into  the  true  skin  by 
means  of  a  number  of  needles  tied  on  to  the  end  of 
a  penholder.  Once  completed  the  design  was  in- 
delibly affixed  to  the  part  for  life. 

Considerable  pain  usually  attended  the  operation, 
and  it  was  not  seldom  followed  by  quite  severe  in- 
flammation ;  but  tattooing  was  the  fashion  of  the 
hour,  and,  just  as  ladies  endure  stays  and  gentle- 

283 


284  On  Board  a  Whaler 

men  tight  boots,  our  crew  laughed  at  the  agony  for 
the  sake  of  doing  as  others  did. 

Nye  limited  his  work  to  anchors,  stars,  and 
whales,  drawn  in  solid  blue  on  the  hands  or  fore- 
arms of  the  boys.  My  own  efforts  were  soon 
directed  to  more  ambitious  pictures,  such  as  flags,  . 
crosses,  eagles,  and  girls,  done  in  red  and  blue  ink, 
not  alone  upon  the  hands  and  arms  of  my  victims,  but 
upon  breasts,  shoulders,  and  other  parts  of  the 
body.  The  results  were  too  often  ludicrous  disfig- 
urements of  the  persons,  but  they  were  generally 
satisfactory  to  the  men  who  suffered  them. 

I  had  fixed  a  number  of  these  works  of  art  upon 
our  Portuguese  mates,  when  one  day  big  Antone 
came  to  me  with  his  arm  bared  to  the  shoulder,  ex- 
posing an  unusually  smooth  and  broad  deltoid  as  a 
field  for  operations. 
"  Savve  ?  "  he  asked. 
"Yes.     What  shall  I  make  ?" 
He  made  the  sign  of  the  cross,  after  the  manner 
of  the  Roman  Church,  and  placed  a  finger  on  his 
shoulder.     M  Savve  ?  "  he  asked  again. 

M  All  right,  old  boy,  I  'm  your  man  for  the  job," 
I  said. 

The  cross  was  laid  out  upon  the  shoulder  on  as 
large  a  scale  as  the  surface  would  permit  and  its 
outline  pricked  in  that  day.  Then,  at  odd  times 
during  the  succeeding  week,  the  body  and  limbs  of 


Tattooing  285 

a  man  suspended  upon  the  cross  in  the  approved 
way  by  means  of  round-headed  tacks  was  added ; 
when  nothing  remained  to  be  done  but  to  paint  the 
head  and  face. 

With  delight  written  on  every  feature,  running 
about  and  exhibiting  my  work  to  officers  and  men, 
big  Antone  was  in  ecstasies;  but  my  own  mind  was 
troubled.  It  would  have  been  easy  enough  to  have 
drawn  an  ordinary  face  and  head ;  but  to  depict  the 
face  of  the  Saviour  in  blue  ink  seemed  beyond  me. 
I  could  find  nothing  on  board  from  which  to  make 
a  copy;  and  my  remembrance  of  pictures  seen  on 
shore  was  too  vague  for  my  purpose. 

In  this  way,  for  several  days,  the  work  hung  with 
no  progress.  It  was  completely  stalled  for  the 
time.  Then  one  of  the  boys  came  forward  leading 
"  Jacko,"  who  had  not  yet  taken  his  fatal  swing, 
and  the  problem  solved  itself. 

At  the  moment  when  Jacko  came  along,  I  was 
sitting  before  Antone's  bared  shoulder  vainly  striv- 
ing to  begin  work.  The  monkey  leaped  upon  the 
windlass  directly  behind  my  victim  and  stared  at 
me  over  the  shoulder.  For  several  moments  he  sat 
there,  his  wicked  little  eyes  and  funny  grimaces 
unconsciously  impressing  my  mind,  until,  before  I 
realized  what  I  was  doing,  the  countenance  of  the 
imp  was  looking  at  me  from  the  cross  on  Antone's 
deltoid.     Then  an  impulse  came  to  run  a  tail  around 


286  On  Board  a  Whaler 

the  foot  of  the  cross  and  fasten  it  in  front  in  the  reg- 
ulation manner,  and  the  picture  was  done. 

The  effect  of  the  work  startled  me  and  I  wished 
it  undone  the  instant  it  was  completed ;  but  to  alter 
it  without  having  shown  it  to  Frank  could  not  be 
thought  of.  To  '*  tickle  "  Frank  was  of  all  things 
most  pleasing;  and  this  would  "  tickle  him  to 
death,"  I  believed.  So,  intending  to  undo  my 
work  later,  I  started  aft  to  find  Frank. 

A  moment  later,  I  saw  Frank  rushing  toward  me 
from  the  cabin  gangway,  his  face  bearing  a  horrified 
expression,  while  he  shouted  : 

"  Run,  Tom — look  out — run  !  " 

Instead  of  running,  I  turned  in  time  to  dodge  a 
knife  hurled  at  me  by  the  infuriated  Antone. 

It  is  doubtful  if  the  poor  fellow  knew  at  all  what 
he  was  doing.  In  his  rage  he  was  merely  a  wild 
animal,  and  his  antics  would  have  been  laughable  to 
one  not  involved  in  their  sphere.  To  me  they  did 
not  then  seem  so. 

The  knife,  passing  under  my  chin,  grazed  my 
neck  in  its  flight,  and  stuck  quivering  in  the  wood 
of  the  mainmast.  Then,  bellowing  like  a  bull,  with 
staring  eyes  and  arms  working  like  flails,  the  big 
Portuguese  rushed  blindly  upon  me.  He  was  too 
close  to  me  to  admit  of  my  entire  escape,  and, 
thinking  it  folly  to  try  to  parry  his  blows,  I  dropped 
suddenly  in  front  of  him  upon  my  hands  and  knees, 


Tattooing  287 

and  he  went  sprawling  over  my  back  upon  the  deck. 
In  another  moment,  both  Frank  and  myself  pounced 
upon  him,  and  he  lay  helplessly  bawling  for  help. 

"  What  's  up  out  there  ?  "  called  the  captain. 

Frank  desisted  from  bumping  Antone's  head  on 
the  deck,  to  answer : 

"  This  devil  's — been  tryin' — to  do  up — Tom — 
with  a  knife,  sir." 

"  The  black !     'Roust  the  scamp  along  here. 

We  '11  see  about  this  knifin'  business." 

We  let  the  big  fellow  up  and  he  went  trembling 
along  aft,  no  doubt  expecting  immediate  punish- 
ment for  his  acts. 

The  master  was  not  one  to  condemn  even  a  Port- 
uguese until  he  had  heard  both  sides;  and,  sum- 
moning the  steward  as  an  interpreter,  he  proceeded 
to  investigate  the  charge  by  asking  for  Antone's 
side  of  the  story. 

The  steward  gathered  the  facts  from  Antone  and 
then  explained : 

**  Tom,  he  make  bad  thing." 

Bad   thing !      Must   have    been    mighty  bad. 
What  sort  of  a  thing?  " 

"Picture,  suh  —  picture."  The  steward  bared 
Antone's  shoulder,  horror  and  indignation  blending 
on  his  face  as  he  pointed  at  my  work.  M  See — 
see  !  "  he  cried. 

The  captain  came  down  for  a  nearer  look  at  the 


288  On  Board  a  Whaler 

picture,  and  then  leaped  back  upon  the  quarter- 
deck. There,  for  fully  half  a  minute,  with  his  back 
turned  partially  toward  the  crew,  his  hands  pressed 
upon  the  pit  of  his  stomach,  his  body  twisting  in 
convulsions  and  bent  almost  double,  his  face  rang- 
ing rapidly  from  white  to  purple,  he  stood,  uttering 
no  sound.  Then  he  threw  up  his  arms  and 
shrieked : 

"Oh — oh — oh,  Lord!  Oo-oo-oo-oo-wozu-wow  / 
Oh,  my — oh,  my — my,  my,  my!  Oh,  lordy,  lordy ! 
Bowman!  Bowman  —  for  the  love  of  all  the 
angels,  Bowman,  take  a  look  at  that  thing!  " 

Then  he  seemed  to  remember  that  my  victim  was 
a  member  of  the  Roman  Church,  whose  feelings 
must  have  been  cruelly  outraged  by  my  perform- 
ance, and  the  impropriety  of  his  own  levity  came 
over  him.  He  recollected  that  he  was  acting  as 
judge  between  Antone  and  me,  and,  stopping 
abruptly,  said  sternly: 

"  He  'd  have  served  you  jest  right  if  he  'd  cut  your 
dummed  weazen,  Tom.  If  he  had,  he  'd  a  done 
jest  right,  by  ginger!  If  I  'd  a  been  him,  I  'd  have 
broke  your  head  for  yeh;  that  's  what  I  'd  have 
done,  and  served  yeh  fair,  too.  Now  you  go  and 
wipe  that  thing  out,  or  I  '11  have  yeh  strung  up  here 
and  flogged.  Do  yeh  hear  ?  If  yeh  don't  git  that 
thing  fixed  up  putty  durned  quick,  now,  1  '11  have 
yeh  licked  until  yeh  know  better  'n  to  do  sech  a  trick 


HIS  BODY  TWISTING  IN  CONVULSIONS." 


Tattooing  289 

another  time.  Right 's  right.  Pochugee  or  white 
man,  right  's  right,  aboard  here,  whoever  it  teches, 
and,  if  you  don't  git  that  fixed  up,  we  '11  see  about 
it." 

Then,  as  he  took  a  second  look  at  my  picture, 
another  convulsion  threatened  him,  and  he  beat  a 
hasty  retreat  into  his  cabin. 

It  required  considerable  persuasion  by  the  other 
boys  of  the  crew  before  Antone  would  let  me  try  to 
undo  my  work;  but  he  finally  submitted,  and  by 
changing  some  of  the  lines  of  the  head  and  face, 
and  making  the  foot  of  the  cross  solidly  blue,  I 
managed  to  obliterate  the  worst  features  of  the  pic- 
ture. Antone  expressed  himself  as  satisfied;  and 
nothing  more  was  ever  said  in  my  hearing  about  it. 
But  it  was  months  after  that  before  I  felt  entirely 
safe  in  the  big  fellow's  company. 

44  You  '11  have  to  keep  your  eyes  out  for  that  son 
of  the  Church,"  Frank  cautioned  me,  "or  he  '11 
murder  you  some  night,  sure  "  ;  and  I  believed  him. 


CHAPTER   XXVII 

KINGS   OF  THE   OCEAN 

WE  had  wearied  of  the  sunshine,  so  we  now 
wearied  of  the  fog  and  drip,  and  heartily 
welcomed  a  return  of  a  bright  sky. 

**  Hot  but  all  right,"  the  boys  declared  it. 

There  was  still  no  breath  of  wind.  The  fog  had 
dried  up — not  blown  away.  The  air  in  the  fore- 
castle was  stuffy,  and  the  most  of  my  watch  was 
curled  up  on  the  deck  asleep,  one  day,  when  Jack's 
voice  rang  out  over  us  from  the  masthead : 
There  go  flu-u-ukes." 

M  Where  away  ?  "  the  captain  demanded. 

M  Dead  ahead,  sir." 

"  What  do  you  make  of  'em,  Mr.  Brown  ?  " 

Mr.  Brown  had  seen  nothing,  and  said  so. 

"  What  do  you  make  'em,  then  ?  "  the  captain 
continued,  looking  up  at  Jack. 

"  Dunno,  sir.     'T  was  a  rouser,  whatever  't  was, 
sir.     I  did  n't  see  no  spout,  sir.     Jest  his  fluke." 

Then  he  bellowed : 

290 


Kings  of  the  Ocean  291 

"  Thar  she  blo-o-o-ows!  They  're  sperm  whales, 
suh,  and  thunderin'  big,  too,"  he  added,  in  great 
glee. 

Men  and  boys  flocked  into  the  rigging  for  a  sight 
of  the  whales;  but  minutes  followed  minutes  until 
an  hour  had  gone  by  and  yet  nothing  appeared. 

M  I  guess  that  old  hat  o'  your  'n  must  have  flop- 
ped, Jack,  and  you  took  it  for  a  whale,"  Mr.  Brown 
remarked,  as  he  started  for  the  deck. 

"  Not  by  a  jugful,  sir.  I  guess  I  know  a  sperm 
whale  spout  when  I  see  it.  There  can't  no  old  hat 
fool  me,  nuther,"  Jack  insisted,  his  voice  quivering 
with  indignation. 

Jack's  time  at  the  masthead  expired,  and  he  came 
to  the  deck  looking  puzzled  and  sheepish. 

"  I  guess  yeh  must  a  stowed  away  some  o'  Pete's 
elixir  of  life,  eh  ?  "  Nye  threw  at  Jack  as  he  reached 
the  deck. 

"No,  by  ginger,  and  I  can  lick  any — .  There 
she  bl-o-ows!  "  cried  Jack,  abruptly  ending  his 
threat.  "  Thar  she  blo-o-ows,"  he  repeated  as  a 
second  whale  spout  puffed  out  on  the  water. 

A  dozen  of  us  had  seen  the  low  puffs  and  joined 
in  the  cry.  Nobody  cared  then  who  Jack  could 
lick,  and  we  were  never  enlightened  further  in  that 
matter. 

"  Man  the  boats,"  came  the  order,  quick  and 
sharp. 


292  On  Board  a  Whaler 

We  could  now  see  two  whales  disporting  on  the 
waves  some  three  miles  from  the  brig,  and  the  dis- 
tance to  them  was  quickly  covered  by  our  boats. 
We  made  our  way  towards  them  with  the  oars  until 
within  something  like  a  fourth  of  a  mile  of  the 
game,  when  we  took  to  the  paddles  and  went  on  in 
silence  until  almost  upon  them. 

"  You  and  Brown  git  in  back  of  that  feller  over 
yonder,  and  I  '11  look  after  this  one  over  here,"  the 
captain  directed  Mr.  Bowman,  indicating  the  par- 
ticular "  feller  "  with  his  hand,  and  speaking  softly. 

"  Aye,  aye,  sir,"  came  back  the  whispered  re- 
sponse of  the  mate,  and  both  the  other  boats 
started  away  from  us  in  obedience  to  the  order. 

I  now  paid  exclusive  attention  to  the  whale  our 
own  boat  was  to  attack;  and,  for  some  time,  saw 
nothing  more  of  the  other  boats  or  of  their  whale. 

A  hundred  yards  from  us  was  the  hump  of  our 
game,  a  huge  black  mound,  broad,  rounded,  glisten- 
ing with  moisture,  rising  a  foot  or  more  above  the 
waves;  and,  just  as  the  other  boats  moved  off  on 
their  errand,  an  enormous  gray  head  silently 
emerged  from  the  ocean  in  front  of  the  hump,  ex- 
tending toward  us  something  like  fifty  feet.  Up  it 
came  out  of  the  sea  to  a  height  of  several  feet, 
gleaming  in  the  sunlight,  and  looking  more  like 
a  great  boulder  than  a  living  thing;  and  then,  with 
a   startling  crash,   out  rolled  a  cloud  of  dampness 


Kings  of  the  Ocean  293 

from  the  great  nostril,  and  the  head  silently  sank 
beneath  the  water. 

At  the  sound  of  that  snort-like  breath,  seeming 
to  challenge  the  boat  to  combat,  every  face  around 
me  became  grave  and  stern.  In  every  story  told 
me  on  shore  about  fighting  whales,  the  hero  had 
been  described  as  a  gray-headed  bull,  experienced 
and  cunning,  as  became  his  age.  Here  was  the  gray 
head  and  the  tremendous  proportions  which  bespoke 
the  fighting  bull,  and,  expecting  him  to  main- 
tain the  reputation  of  his  tribe,  the  men  were  nerv- 
ing themselves  for  the  coming  struggle.  It 
remained  to  be  seen  whether  this  particular  whale 
was  possessed  of  the  wisdom  and  pluck  commonly 
ascribed  to  his  kind. 

The  eye  of  the  sperm  whale  is  placed  so  far  back 
and  low  down  upon  the  side  of  his  body  that  he  can 
see  nothing  that  is  either  directly  in  front  of  or  be- 
hind him ;  and  this  defect  in  his  anatomical  make- 
up works  greatly  to  his  disadvantage  in  his  fights 
with  whalers.  Unless  the  boat  happens  to  be  on 
one  side  or  the  other  of  the  animal,  he  cannot  de- 
termine its  whereabouts;  while,  even  if  he  does 
catch  sight  of  the  boat,  before  he  can  turn  his  un- 
wieldy frame  to  strike  with  jaw,  head,  or  fluke,  the 
boat  is  somewhere  else.  Hence,  given  an  active 
crew,  headed  by  a  prudent  and  intelligent  officer, 
and  the  whale  has  little  chance  of  a  victory  over 


294  On  Board  a  Whaler 

his  foe.  We  were  fully  aware  of  our  advantage  in 
this  respect,  and  governed  our  movements  accord- 
ingly. 

As  the  animal  sank  under  the  waves  after  taking 
his  breath,  he  came  gliding  slowly  toward  us  under 
the  water,  quite  unsuspicious  of  his  danger,  until 
he  was  close  upon  the  boat. 

"  Send  'er  a  leetle,  boys,"  the  captain  whispered 
to  us. 

Not  to  alarm  the  animal,  we  dipped  our  paddles 
cautiously,  and,  just  as  the  head  was  emerging  for 
another  breath,  the  boat  slipped  alongside  of  it  so 
near  that  we  could  have  touched  it  with  our  hands. 

With  no  more  appearance  of  excitement  than  he 
would  have  shown  on  the  deck  of  the  brig,  Jim 
stood  awaiting  the  order  of  the  master,  harpoon  in 
hand,  while  the  boat  slid  along  back  beside  the 
great  mountain  of  flesh  something  like  half  its 
length,  and  then : 

Give  it  to  'im,  Jim,"  the  captain  hissed. 

And,  before  the  astonished  brute  could  swerve, 
two  harpoons  had  been  buried  in  his  blubber. 

We  were  not  long  held  in  suspense  as  to  the  result 
of  this  attack.  The  great  head  sank  under  the  boat ; 
sheets  of  water  and  spray  hid  the  mighty  fluke  in 
mid-air;  and  a  hundred  tons  of  animal  matter 
plunged  into  the  deep. 

The  sulphur  bottom  was  longer  and  larger  than 


Kings  of  the  Ocean  295 

was  this  whale,  but  his  movements  failed  to  impress 
me  as  did  this  dive.  The  easy  flippancy  of  the  yel- 
low whale  had  suggested  lightness.  His  agility  had 
been  wonderful,  but  not  awe-inspiring.  He  had 
gone  suddenly,  almost  without  a  ripple,  with  no  re- 
sounding spank  on  the  ocean,  no  silent,  smooth 
gliding  of  his  body.  There  had  been  an  instanta- 
neous flash,  and  the  whale  had  gone. 

The  sperm  whale  gave  us  ample  time  to  note  his 
tremendous  proportions,  moved  with  a  ponderous 
gravity  befitting  so  royal  a  creature,  and  left  in  the 
minds  of  the  beholders  a  sense  of  weight  and  power 
that  compelled  our  awe.  As  became  a  king,  he 
started  amidst  the  roar  of  great  guns  and  a  mighty 
upheaval  of  the  ocean,  and  then  slipped  swiftly, 
silently  away. 

Z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z,"  sang  the  line  following 
the  whale  for  a  few  seconds  and  then  stopped.  A 
moment  later,  the  monster  head  once  more  ap- 
peared, and  with  the  ponderous  movement  appro- 
priate to  its  dimensions,  rose  until  the  eye  could  be 
seen  staring  above  the  water.  For  several  seconds 
the  whale  stood  there  erect,  exposing  the  long  rows 
of  ivory  tusks,  ominously  glistening  in  the  sun- 
beams, and  turning  gravely  as  if  surveying  the  scene, 
while  the  long  under  jaw  dropped  lower  and  lower 
until  finally  it  hung  almost  at  a  right  angle  with  its 
fellow.      So    widely   was   that   mouth   opened,   it 


296  On  Board  a  Whaler 

looked  as  if  the  brig  might  be  inserted  between 
those  jaws.  Then,  after  perhaps  ten  seconds,  the 
animal  seemed  satisfied,  and,  snapping  his  jaw 
viciously  shut,  settled  with  the  same  ponderous 
motion  back  under  the  waves. 

In  the  meantime,  in  order  to  be  able  to  dodge 
quickly,  we  had  resumed  our  oars,  and  the  captain 
and  Jim  had  exchanged  ends  in  the  boat.  The  whale- 
line  was  hanging  limp  from  its  chock,  and,  from 
that  circumstance,  we  knew  the  whale  was  not  run- 
ning from  us.  We  felt  sure  he  was  at  that  moment 
coming  toward  us  under  the  water,  and  that  we 
were  in  for  a  dangerous  fight. 

The  succeeding  seconds  were  moments  of  supreme 
anxiety  to  us.  So  long  as  the  whale  was  in  sight, 
we  could  hope  to  outwit  or  dodge  him ;  but  the 
idea  of  his  coming  at  us  from  below  was  not  pleas- 
ant. We  could  face  an  open  attack  from  him  with- 
out flinching;  but  a  hidden  enemy  of  his  powers 
was  just  cause  for  us  to  quake. 

"  Can  yeh  see  'im,  sir  ?"  asked  Jim,  his  face 
white,  but  with  no  quaver  of  voice. 

"  No — dog-gone  it,  no!  The  light  shines  so  it  's 
hard  to  make  'im  out  under  the  water,"  the  captain 
answered,  with  the  slightest  possible  shake  of  tone. 

Then,  scarcely  the  length  of  the  boat  from  us, 
suddenly  towering  high  above  our  heads,  the  whale 
came   headed   straight   for  the  boat  in  one  of  his 


Kings  of  the  Ocean  297 

lunging    leaps.     There   seemed    no   possibility    of 
escaping  him. 

"Gosh!"  Jim  gasped,  but  made  no  effort  to 
swing  the  boat  out  of  way  of  the  oncoming  beast. 

M  Hy — hy  there!  "  screamed  the  captain,  just  as 
he  would  have  done  at  a  charging  ox. 

Not  an  oar  was  stirred  in  the  boat.  To  dodge 
seemed  useless.  The  only  hope  of  escape  seemed  to 
lie  outside,  and  the  boat  would  have  been  minus  its 
men  in  another  second,  had  not  the  whale  sunk  as 
quickly  as  he  had  risen  and  gone  on  beneath  it. 

We  had  escaped  by  the  breadth  of  a  hair.  If  the 
whale  had  come  on  two  feet  farther  our  boat  must 
have  been  crushed  to  atoms.  As  it  was,  by  jabbing 
the  boat  hook  into  the  ugly  head  and  pushing  on 
it  with  all  his  might,  the  captain  had  succeeded  in 
shoving  the  bow  to  one  side,  and  the  collision  had 
been  avoided. 

I  swun!  "  exclaimed  Jim,  sinking  back  on  his 
seat  with  a  relieved  sigh. 

**  I  swow  to  goodness,  but  he  come  nigh  to  doin' 
it  that  time,"  the  captain  muttered. 

"  I  vow,  Tom,  I  never  thought  we  'd  git  clear 
so,  did  you?  "  whispered  the  tub  oarsman  in  my  ear. 

And  after  that,  all  of  us  breathed  more  freely, 
while  we  watched  the  brute  towing  us  in  his  wake. 

If  this  whale  in  his  first  dash  meant  mischief  to 
us,  he  was  certainly  easily  discouraged  and  at  once 


298  On  Board  a  Whaler 

abandoned  the  idea.  His  next  move  leads  me  to 
think  his  sole  object  had  been  to  join  his  companion 
in  flight,  and  that  while  he  stood  erect  before  us  he 
was  engaged  in  locating  the  other  whale  rather  than 
the  whereabouts  of  the  boat. 

In  the  meantime,  Mr.  Bowman  had  fastened  to 
the  other  whale,  and  when  we  turned  to  watch  for 
the  reappearance  of  our  foe  after  his  dive  under  the 
boat,  that  one  was  just  starting  away  for  a  run.  A 
moment  later,  our  whale  threw  his  mighty  head  into 
the  air,  headed  with  all  his  speed  in  pursuit  of  his 
mate;  and  from  that  time  until  they  finally  gave  up 
the  struggle  from  exhaustion,  both  whales  exerted 
themselves  to  the  utmost  in  trying  to  keep  out  of 
our  way. 

It  would  be  more  agreeable  to  follow  the  usual 
course  of  writers  on  this  subject  here  and  record  a 
desperate  battle  with  these  bulls;  but  the  plain 
truth  is  that  neither  of  them  showed  any  serious 
disposition  to  fight  us.  It  seemed  to  me  they  were 
rank  cowards,  and  my  respect  for  the  sperm  whale  as 
a  fighter  never  afterwards  recovered  its  original  state. 

But  I  shall  not  here  digress  to  fully  state  my 
opinion  of  the  character  of  these  whales  as  coura- 
geous, aggressive,  or  persevering  animals.  It  is  suf- 
cient  to  say  now  that,  in  my  judgment,  they  have 
been  considerably  overrated,  and  to  defer  any  fur- 
ther remarks  on  the  subject  to  some  later  chapter. 


Kings  of  the  Ocean  299 

Our  whale  continued  to  run  on  behind  the  other 
one  for  some  time,  and  then,  just  as  his  companion 
threw  up  his  flukes  and  sounded,  stopped  and 
awaited  our  will. 

The  captain  was  not  a  convert  to  my  ideas  con- 
cerning the  courage  of  our  game,  and  ordered  our 
approach  upon  the  beast  with  much  more  than  his 
usual  caution.  Instead  of  directing  us  to  pull  up  to 
him  by  the  line,  as  was  almost  always  done  after  a 
whale  had  laid  to,  the  tub  and  midship  oarsmen 
were  told  to  row  us  to  the  animal ;  and  then,  as  we 
went  slowly  along  toward  the  monster,  the  bow 
oarsman  pulled  the  line  in  the  boat,  and  I  coiled  it 
carefully  at  the  stern,  ready  to  be  let  out  on  the 
jump  should  occasion  demand.  Nor  did  we  move 
directly  upon  the  whale  as  was  usually  done;  but, 
instead,  we  made  a  detour  to  come  up  behind  him, 
out  of  range  of  his  eye ;  and  then,  when  we  were 
near  enough  to  begin  work,  in  place  of  going  boldly 
on  and  plunging  his  lance  into  the  black  side,  the 
captain  announced  rather  nervously : 

"  I  guess  I  'd  better  shoot  'im." 

After  that  he  waited  some  minutes  before  firing 
at  the  animal. 

"  The  deuced  critter  lays  so  darned  deep,  likely  's 
not  't  won't  do  no  good  to  shoot,"  I  heard  him 
muttering  behind  me. 

At  last  came  the  roar  of  the  gun,  but  no  com- 


300  On  Board  a  Whaler 

mand  to  "  stern  M  followed.  The  whale  lay  like  a 
wooden  thing,  quite  undisturbed  by  the  bomb, 
which  had  either  failed  to  explode,  or,  exploding, 
had  done  no  material  harm  in  the  broad  back  of  the 
animal.  A  second  and  a  third  shot  was  fired  with 
no  better  result,  and  then,  in  evident  contempt  for 
it,  the  captain  laid  aside  his  gun. 

"  Guess  I  '11  have  to  kill  him  with  the  lances  after 
all.  These  here  guns  may  be  good  for  suthin' — 
they  be  all  right  when  a  whale  lays  up  out  o'  water 
where  yeh  can  hit  'im;  but  yeh  '11  never  kill  this 
one  with  the  danged  thing.  He  lays  like  a  dummed 
log,  and  don't  roll  a  bit.  Put  me  on  to  'im,  Jim," 
the  captain  ordered. 

Jim  gave  us  the  signal  to  pull  up  easy,  and  the 
boat  glided  in  toward  and  past  the  fluke  of  the 
whale  on  one  side. 

M  There— that  's  nigh  enough.     Keep  'er  so." 

We  dropped  our  oars  and  checked  the  headway 
of  the  boat. 

M  Ugh-ugh-ugh !  "  the  captain  grunted,  throwing 
his  lance.  M  That  's  more  like,  now,  hain't  it!  Ugh- 
ugh-ugh!  After  you  've  said  and  done  it  all,  there 
hain't  nothin'  like  a  good  lance  to  work  on  a  whale 
with." 

By  this  time  it  had  become  clear  to  all  of  us  that 
there  was  no  fight  in  the  whale.  It  was  merely  a  ques- 
tion of  how  soon  the  lance  would  reach  a  vital  part. 


Kings  of  the  Ocean  301 

"  Ugh-ugh-ugh !  "  the  captain  continued,  until 
tired  of  working  from  a  distance,  he  shouted  : 

"  Hang  it  all,  Jim,  git  me  up  there  where  I  can 
reach  'im,  will  yeh !  " 

In  another  moment,  as  the  boat  rose  and  fell  with 
the  waves,  its  bow  actually  grazed  the  side  of  the 
whale. 

M  There — that  '11  do  fust  rate.  Jest  hold  'er  right 
there  a  spell,  boys." 

So  far,  the  creature  had  paid  no  attention  to  the 
thrusts  of  the  lance,  but  when  the  boat  came  scrap- 
ing down  on  his  side  he  seemed  to  grow  uneasy, 
and  rolling  heavily  in  his  bed  brought  his  great  side 
flipper  well  up  toward  the  surface  of  the  water, 
close  beside  the  captain.  In  went  the  long  lance  its 
full  length  just  back  of  the  huge  fin,  and  then,  be- 
fore the  return  roll  of  the  great  body  could  compel 
him  to  desist,  the  captain  churned  his  weapon  in  and 
out  several  times  among  the  very  vitals  of  the  beast. 

A  shiver  running  along  the  great  frame  of  the 
animal  warned  the  observant  Jim  that  the  death 
blow  had  been  given,  and  he  shouted  to  us: 

"  Stern — stern,  boys!" 

Then  we  pushed  quickly  back  out  of  danger  and 
lay  watching  the  brute  in  his  final  throes. 

As  I  turned  to  look  at  the  whale,  the  head  was 
coming  silently  up  from  the  water,  and  in  a  mo- 
ment a  broad  red  stream  welled  from  the  nostril. 


302  On  Board  a  Whaler 

He  was  spouting  his  life  blood,  and  our  work  was 
done. 

The  animal  was  fully  eighty  feet  long,  with  a 
body  that  was  clumsy  in  its  proportions  for  even  so 
great  a  length,  while  his  weight  would  have  ex- 
ceeded the  combined  weight  of  any  thirty  ele- 
phants. Yet,  with  a  sudden,  twisting  jerk,  the  whole 
of  that  enormous  mass  was  whirled  clear  out  of  the 
water,  and  with  a  terrible  smashing  swash  fell  over 
on  its  side.  The  next  instant  the  sun  was  obscured 
by  swishing  spray,  the  heavens  rang  with  the  re- 
sounding blows  of  the  mighty  flukes,  the  ocean 
boiled  as  a  great  cauldron,  in  the  midst  of  which 
the  black  monster  leaped,  plunged,  and  floundered 
like  a  flapping  fish. 

It  was  a  spectacle  impossible  of  description ;  one 
to  be  seen  and  felt,  but  not  to  be  pictured.  We 
were  all  a-gape — dumb.  Not  a  sound  escaped  any 
man,  not  an  oar  was  moved,  and  until,  a  minute 
later,  the  great  beast  subsided  in  death,  we  sat,  liv- 
ing statues.     Then  we  recovered  our  voices: 

"  Do  they  do  that  often,  sir  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  No,  my  boy,  not  often — they  don't  gen'rally 
jump  clean  out  like  that;  but  I  've  seen  'em  do  it 
afore.  I  saw  one  of  'em  whap  over  once — jest  end 
over  end  he  went — slap  down  on  to  a  boat,  and  by 
gum  there  wa'  n't  enough  left  of  that  boat,  nor  the 
men  nuther,  to  bother  with,"  the  captain  replied. 


Kings  of  the  Ocean  303 

As  we  looked  around  us  to  see  what  had  become 
of  the  other  boats,  the  companion  to  our  whale, 
who  had  been  seeking  an  avenue  of  escape  in  the 
depths  below,  was  just  rising  a  few  hundred  yards 
away ;  and,  hastily  cutting  the  line  that  still  held  us 
to  the  dead  whale,  we  headed  our  boat  for  him. 
We  were  nearer  to  the  animal  than  either  of  the 
other  boats  and  reached  him  before  they  did. 

This  whale  was  as  large  and  long  as  the  one  we 
had  killed,  and  as  we  came  to  him  we  found  him 
lying  squarely  on  his  back,  his  grayish-white  belly 
dazzingly  bright,  but  too  deeply  buried  in  the  water 
to  be  successfully  pierced  by  our  lances.  The 
under  jaw,  about  half  extended,  was  standing  ob- 
liquely up  from  the  water  at  one  end  of  him,  and  his 
wide  fluke  could  be  seen  lying  flatwise  just  under 
the  waves  at  the  other,  while  his  body  bent  down- 
ward like  a  bow.  We  could  have  easily  passed  be- 
tween the  jaws  of  the  animal  with  the  boat  and  not 
have  disturbed  his  rest,  and  while  he  laid  there  we 
did  actually  cross  over  the  middle  of  his  body. 

"  No  use.  He  's  too  deep  to  git  at  'im.  We 
'11  have  to  wait  'til  he  rolls  over,  o'  suthin'.  'T  ain't 
no  good  to  prick  'im,"  the  captain  informed 
us. 

A  moment  later  the  animal  rolled  slowly  over, 
apparently  taking  no  heed  of  a  lance  thrust  given 
him  by  the  captain  as  his  dark  side  was  exposed  to 


304  On  Board  a  Whaler 

our  boat,  but  quietly  raising  his  head  for  a  breath 
of  air. 

By  this  time  the  mate  had  arrived  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  whale,  and  each  boat  lay  above  and  near 
a  side  paddle.  Mr.  Brown  was  just  rowing  up  from 
behind  the  animal  with  a  view  to  assisting  in  the 
work  of  killing  him. 

The  tail  of  the  creature  was  now  lying  rather  deep 
in  the  water,  where  it  need  not  have  been  touched 
by  the  oars,  but  the  animal  seemed  so  docile  and  like 
the  one  we  had  already  killed  that  the  boat-steerer 
in  the  boat  of  Mr.  Brown  became  careless.  A  whale 
may  bear  prodding  with  the  sharpened  blade  of  a 
lance  and  yet  resent  any  undue  familiarity  by  an 
oar  with  his  fluke,  as  was  quickly  demonstrated  to 
us.  The  big  steering  oar  was  allowed  to  sink  until 
it  rubbed  along  upon  the  fluke,  with  consequences 
that  should  have  been  foreseen  by  the  officer.  In  an 
intant  that  tail  rose  under  the  boat  and  the  second 
mate  with  all  his  crew  were  soused  into  the  sea. 
For  a  second  the  boat  stood  on  one  end,  then  top- 
pled over  upon  one  side,  shattered  and  leaking,  but 
not  irreparable,  after  which  it  righted  and  floated 
away. 

The  men  were  badly  shaken  up  and  frightened, 
but  no  one  had  been  seriously  hurt.  They  had 
suffered  a  tip-up,  and  that  was  all.  The  kick  of  the 
fluke  sent  the  whale  forward  out  of  the  way,  and, 


FOR  A  SECOND  THE  BOAT  STOOD  ON  ONE  END.'- 


Kings  of  the  Ocean  305 

being  unencumbered  with  any  line,  our  boat  went 
to  the  rescue  of  the  swimmers.  In  a  few  minutes 
we  had  hauled  them  all  from  the  water  and  put 
them  back  into  their  own  boat,  where  we  left  them 
to  pick  up  what  they  could  find  of  its  equipments 
floating  about  them,  and  returned  to  the  animal 
which  lay  awaiting  us. 

V  Mebbe  them  darned  fools  '11  learn  to  keep  off 
of  a  fluke  like  that  after  they  've  been  h'isted  half  a 
dozen  times,"  the  captain  growled. 

The  readiness  of  the  brute  to  kick  at  trifles  made 
the  captain  more  cautious  than  he  had  been  in  his 
former  approach,  and  we  kept  at  a  safer  distance, 
from  which  it  was  decided  to  try  the  guns  again. 

It  would  have  been  easy  to  shoot  the  bombs  into 
the  huge  black  hump  that  lay  glistening  in  the 
sunlight,  but  it  would  have  been  a  waste  of  mate- 
rials. The  bombs  were  expensive,  our  supply  lim- 
ited, and  the  guns  were  sure  to  kick.  It  was 
cheaper  and  less  inconvenient  to  wait.  This  whale 
seemed  to  lie  higher  in  the  water  than  his  mate  had 
done,  and  the  chance  of  getting  a  fatal  shot  at  him 
was  better. 

We  had  not  long  to  wait  before  a  receding  wave 
coinciding  with  some  movement  of  the  body 
brought  an  enormous  expanse  of  black  skin  above 
the  waves,  when  the  captain  fired.  The  bomb  had 
been  well  aimed,  and  we  knew   from   the   sudden 


306  On  Board  a  Whaler 

lifting  of  the  animal  in  his  bed  and  a  peculiar  trem- 
ulous wave  passing  the  length  of  his  great  body, 
that  it  had  done  its  work. 

Jim  bellowed  his  M  Stern  all,"  and  we  backed  off. 

The  next  instant  the  animal  had  flopped  over 
upon  one  side,  where  he  lay  five  or  ten  minutes, 
opening  and  shutting  his  jaws  like  the  blades  of 
mammoth  scissors,  with  rapid  snaps.  Then,  send- 
ing the  water  flying  in  the  air,  back  again  he 
whirled ;  and  in  another  second  a  mottled  white 
head  leaped  sixty  feet  into  the  sky,  and  the  animal 
fell  upon  his  back  dead.  Within  twenty  minutes 
from  the  time  the  bomb  entered  his  body  the  gentle 
ripple  of  the  water  upon  the  sides  of  our  boats  was 
the  only  sound  about  us. 

A  little  later  the  brig  hove  to  beside  the  other 
whale,  and,  taking  the  line  still  fast  to  the  second 
animal,  we  rowed  to  her. 

11  Putty  good  day's  work  this  is,  boys — a  putty 
dummed  good  day's  work  and  no  mistake  about  it. 
This  is  what  yeh  call  whalin',  this  is,"  the  captain 
assured  us  as  we  rowed  along. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII 

WORK — CALCULATIONS — JUNKS  AND   CASES 

DURING  the  next  two  weeks  after  the  capture 
of  those  whales  we  labored  incessantly.  Two 
hours  of  each  twenty-four  was  all  that  could  be 
allowed  to  us  for  rest.  It  was  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance that  the  oil  be  preserved,  and  that  could 
be  done  only  by  working  every  man  to  the  limit  of 
his  powers.  The  sun  was  hot,  and  from  the  start 
the  oil  commenced  running  out  of  the  blubber  upon 
the  decks,  much  of  it  escaping  into  the  sea,  while 
over  the  side  swarms  of  sharks  kept  themselves  busy 
robbing  us  of  the  treasure.  Every  hour  of  delay 
was  costing  us  gold,  and  we  worked  with  might  and 
main  to  save  the  most  of  it. 

One  morning,  near  the  last  of  this  work,  I  over- 
heard the  captain  saying  to  Mr.  Bowman: 

M  Three  men  short  to-day." 

"  Ye-ah.  Yeh  don't  s'pose  any  of  'em  are 
shirkin',  do  yeh  ?  " 

'*  No.  I  've  looked  'em  over  myself.  They  're 
307 


308  On  Board  a  Whaler 

used  up,  ev'ry  one  of  'em,  jest  clean  and  straight. 
I  '11  bet  it  hain't  been  less  'n  a  hundred  anywhere 
on  the  brig  sence  we  begun — it  's  too  darned  hot  to 
work  like  this,  that  's  all  that  ails  'em.  No,  they  're 
done  up  honest,  and  can't  do  no  more."  Then  he 
added,  "  Wa-al,  I  'm  mighty  glad  it  's  most  done." 

The  day  after  we  had  stowed  the  final  drop  of  oil 
in  the  hold,  Frank  met  me  in  the  waist: 

"  How  much  do  yeh  guess  we  got  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Oh,  I  s'pose  about  two  hundred,  did  n't  we  ? 
The  way  we  've  worked,  it  ought  to  be  about  ten 
times  that,"  I  said. 

"  Wa-al,  Tom,  you  're  a  Yankee  all  right,  but 
you  're  half  a  barrel  under  the  mark,  my  boy. 
Them  whales  went  two  hundred  and  a  half  barrels 
jest  to  the  pint,"  he  declared. 

M  A  hundred  barrels  a-piece,  and  oil  enough  left 
to  grease  the  ways,  eh  ? " 

"  Yessuh.  A  hundred  barrels  a-piece,  good 
measure,"  he  replied. 

M  That  makes  a  pretty  good  haul,  don't  it.  Let 's 
see.  The  hundred  and  twentieth  part  of  two  hun- 
dred is — is — two  into — twenty  twelfths — four  into — 
four  into — that  makes  five  thirds.  My  share  is  five 
thirds  of  a  barrel,  Frank.  What  do  you  think  the 
stuff  's  worth,  now  we  've  got  it  ? " 

M  Ninety  cents  a  gallon,  the  old  man  says — 'bout 
thirty  dollars  a  barrel." 


Work — Calculations  309 

M  Uh-huh,  that  's  about  what  I  thought.  Well, 
let  's  see  —  five  thirds  of  thirty  is — .  Say,  Frank, 
how  much  do  you  suppose  I  've  made  killing  my- 
self here  with  work,  the  last  two  weeks.  What  will 
it  come  to,  all  reckoned  up  ?  " 

V  I  '11  be  blessed  if  I  know.  Your  figgers  git 
ahead  of  me" 

M  Well,  I  've  made  just  fifty  dollars!  " 

"  Gee  f  Hain't  it  more  'n  that  ?  Be  yeh  sure 
yeh  got  that  right  ?  Darn  it,  it  must  be  more  'n 
that,  hain't  it  ?" 

"  Risked  our  precious  necks  killing  the  brutes, 
and  then  dragged  ourselves  to  shadows  trying  their 
plaguey  oil,  and  that  's  just  what  it  comes  to  to  the 
half  a  cent.  If  yeh  don't  believe  it,  figger  it 
yourself." 

Then,  working  his  tongue  as  a  calculator,  with  a 
piece  of  paper  spread  upon  his  knee,  Frank  worked 
out  the  problem  in  pencil  marks,  finally  turning  to 
me: 

"  No,  Tom,  you  're  off.  I  knew  that  could  n't 
be  right.  You  left  off  twelve  cents.  It  's  mighty 
certain  we  can't  trust  you  to  figger  up  for  us.  No 
siree,  you  '11  have  to  go  to  school  some  more.  You 
left  off  twelve  cents  for  that  half  barrel.  No  suh, 
that  sort  o'  figgerin'  never  '11  do  aboard  here." 

Then  he  poked  me  in  the  ribs  and  went  aft,  but 
presently  returned : 


3io  On  Board  a  Whaler 

"  S'pose  you  reckon  up  an'  see  what  the  old  man 
an'  Macy  have  made  out  o'  this,  jest  for  fun,  Tom." 

"  What  's  their  lay  ?" 

M  They  both  git  the  same.  Yeh  see  Macy  ain't 
what  yeh  might  call  responsible  all  the  time.  You 
remember  how  't  was  back  there  at  Pete's — he  's 
liable  to  take  a  drop  too  many  when  in  port,  and 
they  won't  give  'im  a  ship,  but  he  's  about  the  best 
whaleman  goin',  so  they  give  him  the  same  lay  as 
the  old  man  gits.     They  both  git  a  sixth." 

"  Gosh!  That  is  n't  quite  so  bad,  is  it  ?  Well, 
let  's  see.  You  can  figure  in  the  half  barrel  while 
I  'm  tussling  with  the  rest  of  it.  That  's  a  little  too 
fine  for  my  head.  Let  's  see  now — six  times  two — 
thirty-three  and  a  third.  Thirty  times  thirty-three 
and  a  third  is — .  Sure  as  you  're  born,  Frank,  those 
fellows  have  made  a  thousand  dollars  a-piece,"  I 
declared,  not  a  little  shocked  at  the  great  disparity 
between  the  pay  of  the  officers  and  the  rest  of  the 
crew. 

11  Wa-al,  I  vum,  that  's  meaner  'n  pussly,  that  is. 
I  would  n't  mind  if  't  wa'n't  more  'n  four  or  five 
times  as  much  as  the  boys  git,  but  twenty  times — 
Jerusalem!  that  ain't  right,"  said  Frank. 

The  whales  we  had  cut  up  differed  from  the  other 
sperm  whales  we  had  killed  only  in  sex,  size,  and 
thickness  of  the  blubber.  They  were  about  equal 
in   their  own  dimensions,  and  the  very  largest   of 


Junks  and  Cases  311 

their  kind.  No  effort  was  made  to  keep  the  oil  of 
one  separate  from  that  of  the  other  while  trying  it 
out,  so  that  we  were  unable  to  tell  which  yielded 
the  larger  quantity.  A  few  barrels  of  the  oil  was 
lost  from  leakage  through  the  scupper  holes,  but 
probably  not  more  than  is  usual  on  such  occasions. 
A  hundred-barrel  sperm  whale  is  regarded  by  whale- 
men as  a  big  one,  and  no  one  on  board  our  vessel 
had  seen  one  that  produced  more  than  a  hundred 
and  ten  barrels.  A  recent  writer  speaks  of  killing 
a  sperm  whale  that  yielded  a  hundred  and  fifty 
barrels;  but,  if  he  is  not  mistaken  in  his  figures, 
he  certainly  came  across  a  rare  specimen  of  the 
tribe. 

The  bowheads  of  the  Arctic  Ocean,  rarely  reach- 
ing seventy  feet  in  length,  are  much  fatter  than  the 
sperm  whale,  and  sometimes  yield  two  or  even 
three  hundred  barrels  of  oil,  perhaps;  but  no  whaler 
with  whom  I  have  ever  talked  has  told  me  of  a 
sperm  whale  that  made  even  a  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  barrels  of  oil. 

The  junks  of  these  whales  were  so  bulky  that  we 
could  not  hoist  them  from  the  water  to  the  decks 
without  first  cutting  them  into  pieces.  One  of 
those  pieces  exceeded  twenty  feet  in  length,  and  at 
one  of  its  ends  was  so  thick,  that  standing  on  tiptoe 
beside  it,  I  was  unable  to  reach  its  top.  These 
masses  were  so  saturated  with  oil  that  the  slightest 


3i2  On  Board  a  Whaler 

pressure  upon  them  would  cause  the  oil  to  trickle 
down  their  surfaces  in  streams. 

The  cases,  too,  were  unusually  large,  so  that  we 
bailed  twelve  barrels  of  oil  from  one  and  eleven 
from  the  other  by  means  of  buckets,  and  even 
that  difference  would  not  have  occurred  between 
them  but  for  an  odd  incident. 

Before  the  junk  in  which  it  was  imbedded  was 
hoisted  in  on  board,  the  case  in  the  first  head  was 
emptied  of  its  oil  without  any  mishap.  Then  the 
second  head  was  placed  in  position  under  the  gang- 
way in  the  middle  of  the  bulwarks  of  the  brig  for 
work  upon  the  second  case;  and  Jim  was  ordered 
down  upon  it.  He  quickly  cut  an  opening  into  the 
case  large  enough  to  admit  of  bailing  it  out,  and  had 
soon  taken  out  perhaps  half  its  contents.  Then,  in 
order  to  expedite  his  work,  he  got  down  into  the 
case  and  stood  there  waist  deep  in  oil  to  finish  dip- 
ping it  out. 

At  the  cutting  in  of  whales  the  sharks  usually  get 
hold  of  enough  refuse  meat  to  partially  satisfy  their 
appetites,  and,  in  consequence,  they  make  few 
serious  attempts  to  reach  the  men  engaged  upon  the 
work.  For  this  reason  the  men  are  apt  to  pay  too 
little  heed  to  the  presence  of  these  wolves,  and 
sometimes  incur  unnecessary  dangers  from  them. 

As  Jim  went  down  upon  this  head  a  number  of 
small    sharks   were   gathered    near  it,   where   they 


Junks  and  Cases  3X3 

continued  to  swim  or  lay  about,  feasting  their  wicked 
little  eyes  upon  him  for  some  time  before  venturing 
to  come  nearer.  Then  they  began  creeping  bash- 
fully closer,  and  occasionally  one  of  them  would  run 
his  nose  up  on  to  the  head  within  a  few  inches  of 
Jim's  foot,  when  he  would  be  savagely  cut  by  a 
spade  from  above,  or  the  boat-steerer  would  stop 
long  enough  to  jab  the  nose  with  his  knife.  But  as 
the  work  proceeded,  both  Jim  and  the  officers  be- 
came so  absorbed  in  it  that  the  sharks  were  for- 
gotten and  allowed  to  do  as  they  pleased.  No  one 
thought  of  danger  to  Jim  in  the  sack.  Every  man 
was  occupied  in  attending  to  his  own  business  with 
no  thought  for  the  fishes. 

In  this  way  the  sharks,  finding  themselves  unmo- 
lested, gathered  in  a  great  swarm  about  the  head, 
almost  within  reach  of  Jim. 

"Give  me  a  leetle  more " 

The  request  was  cut  short.  One  of  the  smaller 
sharks,  either  crowded  up  from  below  by  his  fel- 
lows, or  making  a  rush  at  Jim  and  missing  his  aim, 
had  slipped  inside  the  case  with  the  boat-steerer. 

It  is  hard  to  say  which  was  the  more  surprised  or 
frightened — the  shark  or  the  man.  Jim  gave  utter- 
ance to  a  blood-curdling  screech  and  scrambled  out 
of  the  sack  and  up  on  deck,  leaving  the  shark  to 
waste  our  oil.  For  some  minutes  the  shark  demon- 
strated his  ability  to  bail  oil  without  the  aid  of  a 


3H  On  Board  a  Whaler 

bucket,  before  he  could  be  hooked  out  of  the  case. 
It  was  rather  too  costly  an  exhibition  for  our 
officers  to  enjoy,  but  for  the  rest  of  us  it  was  great 
fun. 

From  the  corners  of  their  mouths  to  the  free  ends, 
the  under  jaws  of  these  whales  were  something  like 
eighteen  feet  long,  and  each  was  provided  with 
twenty-four  pairs  of  excellent  ivory  teeth.  Away 
down  on  each  side,  fully  twenty  feet  b^ck  from  the 
front  of  the  head,  were  the  eyes,  looking  little 
larger  than  those  of  an  ox,  although  in  fact  consider- 
ably larger;  and  scarcely  more  than  twelve  inches 
farther  back  on  the  sides  were  the  little  holes  rep- 
resenting their  ears.  The  diameters  of  the  bodies 
of  the  whales  at  the  largest  parts  were  certainly  not 
less  than  thirteen  feet,  and  the  total  length  of  each 
of  them  was,  as  already  stated,  fully  eighty  feet. 

But  it  is  useless  to  pursue  such  figures.  No  de- 
scription can  place  these  animals  before  an  inexperi- 
enced mind.  You  may  measure  off  the  distances  and 
dimensions  as  given,  fill  them  in  by  your  imagina- 
tion with  flesh,  bones,  and  skin,  just  as  they  were, 
and  still  the  sensations  produced  by  the  presence  of 
the  living  animal  will  not  be  there.  No  mere  dead 
thing  of  fact  or  fancy  can  ever  induce  the  feelings 
caused  by  beholding  the  living  monster.  The  ease, 
the  grace,  the  ponderous  motions  of  the  beast  as  he 
moves  in  the  ocean,  even  the  magnitude  of  his  body, 


Work — Calculations  3 1 5 

are  all  things  not  conceivable  by  the  mind  until 
they  have  been  seen ;  and  much  less  may  that  in- 
definable, subtle  influence  which  accompanies  his 
presence  be  imagined. 

No  intelligent  man,  be  he  never  so  brave  or  ex- 
perienced as  a  whaler,  can  approach  a  full-grown,  live 
sperm  bull  whale  without  a  sense  of  awe,  not  neces- 
sarily because  of  any  timidity  or  cowardice  in  the 
nature  of  the  man,  but  because  of  the  impression  of 
irresistible  power  conveyed  by  the  form  and  move- 
ments of  the  animal,  and  the  feeling  of  utter  hope- 
lessness of  effectually  opposing  the  creature. 

One  of  these  whales  rushed  toward  us  and  every 
man  sat  spell  bound.  What  effect  might  have  been 
wrought  upon  our  minds  if  we  had  been  so  near  to 
him  while  in  his  death  flurry  cannot  be  known.  As 
he  went  in  that  inevitable  circle,  leaping,  whirling, 
tossing,  and  jerking,  enveloped  in  foam  and  spray, 
he  looked  the  personification  of  fury.  It  seemed 
the  limit  of  animal  force.  A  man  placed  in  close 
proximity  with  it  could  never  afterwards  depict  his 
feelings;  it  would  so  paralyze  his  faculty  of  obser- 
vation that  no  true  recollection  of  what  he  saw  could 
survive. 


CHAPTER   XXIX 

DANGER  FROM  SCURVY — LAND — A  VERY  CLOSE 
SHAVE 

AFTER  the  events  of  the  last  chapters  we  cruised 
for  five  months  on  those  grounds,  and  killed 
a  number  of  sperm  whales,  adding  about  three  hun- 
dred barrels  to  our  stock  of  oil.  Only  one  of  these 
whales  was  a  bull,  and,  like  the  others,  he  failed 
to  maintain  the  reputation  of  his  kind.  He  was 
something  over  seventy  feet  in  length,  and  made  us 
eighty-five  barrels  of  oil,  but  he  did  not  fight.  All 
the  other  whales  were  cows,  making  us  anywhere 
from  fifteen  up  to  fifty  barrels  of  oil  each.  Their 
performances  were  so  similar  to  those  of  the  ani- 
mals already  spoken  of  that  no  account  of  them 
would  be  interesting  here.  Not  a  boat  was  dam- 
aged or  man  injured  by  any  of  them. 

We  had  been  thus  cruising  all  that  time,  without 
once  seeing  land  or  sail,  when  Kenney  called  to  us 
down  the  forecastle  gangway,  varying  his  usual  an- 
nouncement of  M  Kid  here,"  by  shouting; 

316 


Land — A  Very  Close  Shave      3l7 

"  Salt  horse,  here." 

Nye  mounted  the  steps  to  receive  our  rations. 
'•  What  's  the  matter  that  there  hain't  no  per- 
taters  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  'Cause  there  hain't  none,  that  's  what  's  the 
matter!  " 

M  You  're  lyin'  and  yeh  know  it.  I  seen  some 
this  mornin'  in  the  galley." 

"  Them  's  for  the  cabin." 

"  What  are  we  goin'  to  do,  then  ?  " 

"  Dunno.  Go  without,  I  s'pose.  Them  's  my 
orders,  and  that  's  all  the'  is  about  it." 

Kenney  went  his  way  and  Nye  came  down  with 
the  tub. 

As  he  set  the  kid  on  my  trunk,  Nye  grumbled : 
'*  This  is  a  mighty  putty  how  to  do,  this  is,  by 
thunder!  No  pertaters,  no  lime  juice,  no  nothiri 
twixt  us  and  scurvy,  by  ginger.  If  't  wa'n't  for  the 
worms  in  it,  we  would  n't  git  none  too  much  hard- 
tack nuther — they  'd  hog  that  for  the  cabin,  too. 
Bet  y'r  life,  they  don't  go  without  nothin'  they 
want  aft — not  by  a  jugful,  they  don't.  If  there  's 
any  sort  of  shortage,  we  've  got  to  stand  it;  them 
fellers  hain't  goin'  to,  you  can  bet  y'r  life." 

It  was  evident,  if  the  crew  was  to  be  preserved 
from  disease  much  longer,  new  supplies  must  be 
secured  from  land.  So  long  as  the  potatoes  held 
out  we  would   be   free  from    scurvy,    but   without 


318  On  Board  a  Whaler 

them,  or  some  vegetable  substitute  for  them,  it 
would  be  a  matter  of  only  a  few  weeks  before  the 
dread  scourge  might  be  expected  to  appear  among 
us.  This  fact  was  recognized  in  the  cabin  as  well  as 
by  us  in  the  forecastle,  and  the  next  day  after  the 
supply  of  potatoes  became  limited  to  the  officers' 
table,  our  course  was  set  for  the  coast  of  Africa. 
With  the  first  peep  at  the  line  marking  the  dark 
continent,  some  three  days  later,  our  grumbling 
ceased,  and  we  could  talk  of  nothing  but  land. 

We  soon  came  opposite  a  long,  sandy  beach  in- 
viting a  landing,  and  the  brig  hove  to  something 
more  than  a  mile  from  shore.  There  was  no  har- 
bor. The  beach  faced  the  open  sea  and  we  must 
get  to  it  through  the  thundering  surf;  nor  was  there 
any  sign  of  human  habitation  to  be  seen.  We  were  a 
few  hundred  miles  south  of  Cape  Frio,  far  from  any 
town. 

Two  boats  were  lowered  and  landed  without  any 
accident,  and  the  captain  instructed  us: 

"  Keep  your  eyes  out  for  lemons,  limes,  bananas, 
or  anything  o'  that  sort  yeh  see.  'T  ain't  likely 
we  '11  find  any  yams  or  potatoes  along  here,  but 
we  've  got  to  git  suthin'  green  to  eat,  or  some  of 
yeh  '11  be  gittin'  sick.  We  can  stave  it  off  on  lime 
juice  prob'bly  'til  we  git  in  somewhere  where 
they  've  got  suthin'  better.  Look  sharp,  boys,  and 
we  '11  be  all  right." 


Land — A  Very  Close  Shave      3X9 

So  we  scattered  in  groups  of  two  or  three  boys  to 
search  for  the  desired  fruit. 

The  first  thing  of  greater  interest  than  the  land 
itself  to  meet  my  gaze  was  a  green  lizard  that  sud- 
denly darted  to  the  top  of  a  boulder  near  me.  The 
reptile  was  probably  eighteen  inches  long  and  per- 
fectly harmless,  but  to  me  his  appearance  was  more 
startling  than  that  of  any  whale. 

In  an  instant  I  had  cast  a  stone  at  the  creature, 
and  was  on  the  run  for  the  beach. 

Mr.  Bowman  was  coming  up  from  the  shore  and 
met  me.     "  What  's  up,  Tom  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  There  's  a  blamed  boa-constrictor  or  something 
of  that  sort  up  yonder,"  I  declared.  Then  another 
lizard  ran  in  front  of  us  and  clambered  upon  a  rock 
not  far  from  us,  and  sat  there  blinking  his  little 
black  eyes.  '■'  No,  't  ain't;  there  's  one  of  'em 
now,"  I  exclaimed.  **  Are  th'  they  poison, 
though  ? " 

'-.  No-o-o.  Them  things  don't  never  hurt  no- 
body. Come  along  back."  But  the  mate,  as  well 
as  myself,  sheered  a  little  in  passing  the  rock  on 
which  the  reptile  was  perched. 

During  the  next  hour  we  must  have  seen  twenty 
of  these  lizards,  of  various  sizes  and  colors,  darting 
about  among  the  trees  and  rocks  like  squirrels.  It 
as  difficult  for  us  to  reconcile  their  looks  with  inno- 
cence, and  many  stones  were  thrown  at  them  with 


320  On  Board  a  Whaler 

no  particular  result  beyond  frightening  the  crea- 
tures. We  made  no  other  attempts  to  capture  any 
of  them. 

"  They  make  a  feller  crawl,  from  his  hair  down  to 
's  toe-nails,  jest  to  look  at  'em,0  Jack  said;  and 
his  views  were  generally  shared  by  the  rest  of  our 
crew. 

We  soon  came  into  an  open  space  of  perhaps  ten 
acres,  in  which  a  grain  much  like  wheat  was  grow- 
ing wild.  In  the  centre  of  this  field  a  raised  plat- 
form had  been  built  of  poles,  upon  which  a  black 
woman  was  standing.  As  is  the  fashion  in  that 
country,  she  was  dressed  principally  in  nothing,  but 
was  armed  with  a  sling  such  as  boys  play  with  in 
America,  and  was  engaged  in  throwing  stones  at 
birds  that  lit  in  the  grain.  If  she  had  been  inclined 
to  be  hostile,  she  could  have  made  us  very  uncom- 
fortable by  the  use  of  that  sling,  for  her  aim  seemed 
sure  for  long  distances;  but  the  moment  that  she 
caught  sight  of  us,  she  gave  vent  to  one  piercing 
cry,  and,  leaping  from  the  platform,  ran  for  the 
woods.     We  saw  no  more  of  her  or  of  any  native. 

At  last  a  lime  tree  was  discovered  and  our  object 
in  landing  attained.  We  stripped  several  bagfuls 
of  fruit  from  the  tree,  paying  full  tribute  to  its 
thorns  while  doing  so,  and  then  returned  to  the 
beach. 

The  hurried  flight  of  the  woman  we  had  scared 


Land — A  Very  Close  Shave      321 

suggested  an  unfriendly  feelings  for  us  on  the  part 
of  her  people,  and,  anticipating  a  disagreeable  visit 
from  them,  we  hastened  to  launch  the  boats  through 
the  surf  and  made  our  way  out  to  the  brig. 

After  that,  for  some  days,  we  sailed  in  a  northerly 
direction,  keeping  in  full  sight  of  the  sandy,  barren- 
looking  hills  of  the  coast,  not  wishing  to  leave  them. 
Then  one  day,  just  as  the  sun  was  going  down, 
offering  no  excuse  or  explanation  to  any  of  us,  the 
captain  ordered  a  more  westerly  course,  one  that 
we  felt  sure  would  take  us  out  of  sight  of  land 
before  morning. 

This  lack  of  conference  between  the  master  and 
his  crew  came  near  to  costing  us  all  our  lives. 
Every  man  of  that  crew  hated  to  lose  sight  of  the 
coast.  Dreary  enough  to  look  upon,  no  more  than 
a  hazy  blue  bank  in  the  distance,  it  might  be,  but 
every  man  of  us  loved  it.  The  thought  of  leaving 
it  was  like  the  tearing  asunder  of  pleasant  ties  to  us. 
I  know  that  while  I  stood  my  own  trick  at  the 
wheel  that  evening  the  head  of  the  brig  was  often 
allowed  to  rest  for  a  minute  at  a  time  fully  a  point 
east  of  the  prescribed  course.  I  did  not  deliberately 
steer  away  from  the  course,  but,  if  the  bow  did 
happen  to  swing  off  toward  the  shore  a  little,  the 
same  haste  to  swing  it  back  was  not  exercised  as 
when  it  happened  to  swing  off  shore.  I  could  not 
patiently  bear  the  thought  of  not  seeing  land  in  the 


322  On  Board  a  Whaler 

coming  morning.  By  confession  made  afterwards 
to  me,  I  know  that  several  of  the  other  boys  not 
only  did  as  I  did,  but  wilfully  disobeyed  the  orders; 
and,  taking  care  not  to  be  caught  at  it  by  the  offi- 
cers, changed  the  course  to  suit  their  wishes.  Had 
we  known  the  reason  for  the  change  of  course  that 
had  been  made,  there  would  have  been  no  danger  of 
any  such  mistake. 

We  were  making  passage  and  every  sail  was 
spread.  The  moon  shone  round  and  silvery  in  the 
heavens  and  we  dashed  along  before  the  half  gale 
over  a  whitecapped  sea.  It  was  a  breeze  and  a 
night  to  make  a  sailor  happy ;  and,  as  our  watch  re- 
tired to  the  forecastle  at  eight  o'clock  that  evening, 
we  were  in  fine  spirits.  We  had  sufficient  reason 
for  rejoicing  in  that  we  were  on  the  way  to  fresh 
water  and  fruits. 

I  had  been  asleep  some  hours  while  the  brig  had 
been  sailing  a  ten-knot  pace,  when  I  was  aroused 
by  the  terrible  cry : 

"  All  hands  on  deck.     Breakers  ahead !  " 

No  alarm  more  appalling  to  him  is  ever  given  a 
sailor  than  this. 

As  we  scrambled  to  the  deck  and  looked  out  over 
the  bow  a  white  sheet  of  foam  could  be  seen  climb- 
ing a  huge  black  tower  half  a  mile  ahead  of  the  brig, 
and  an  ominous  rumbling  roar  greeted  our  ears. 
High  above  the  boulders  and  on  into  the  air  that 


Land — A  Very  Close  Shave       323 

spray  dashed,  gleamed,  and  sparkled  in  the  moon- 
light, and  then  fell  as  it  had  come,  to  expose  a  long 
line  of  jagged  rocks.  The  rushing  waters,  the  roar- 
ing surge  of  that  flood,  the  towering  blackness  of 
the  heights,  the  brilliant  moonbeams  silvering  the 
raging  sea,  all  combined  to  make  a  scene  beautiful 
beyond  the  hopes  of  any  artist,  sublime  beyond  the 
conception  of  any  poet;  but  its  beauty,  it  sub- 
limity, its  grandeur,  its  very  music,  only  added  to 
its  fascinating  horror  in  our  minds. 

There  was  but  a  moment  to  glance  at  all  this,  and 
then,  clear  and  resonant  above  the  thundering  of 
the  surf,  we  heard  the  voice  of  Mr.  Bowman : 

"  Man  the  f orebraces. ' ' 

As  we  tugged  at  the  ropes  the  foreyards  flew 
around. 

"  Well— belay  that." 

"  Well,  sir.     Belay,  sir." 

We  might  have  been  on  exhibition,  so  prompt 
and  exact  had  been  our  work. 

Then  a  great  white  wave  rolled  in  on  deck  and  I 
felt  myself  lifted  from  my  feet.  A  bubbling  gurgle 
sounded  in  my  ears,  and  I  went  floating  helplessly 
away,  with  my  lifetime  passing  before  me  in  review. 
It  could  not  have  been  longer  than  a  second, 
but  in  that  moment  a  multitude  of  remembrances 
had  flashed  through  my  brain  and  my  body  had 
been    resigned    to   its  fate,  when  my  hand  caught 


324  On  Board  a  Whaler 

something  and  clung  to  it.  The  next  instant  I  was 
looking  out  again  over  the  raging  waters,  clinging  to 
the  fore  shrouds  ten  feet  above  the  lee  rail,  ready 
to  battle  once  more  for  life. 

The  brig  was  rising  high  upon  a  mountainous 
wave  that  swept  past  us  on  to  the  rocks,  and  then 
she  settled  down,  down,  down  into  the  dark,  cavern- 
ous water,  until  a  jarring  shock  told  us  of  the  rocks 
beneath.  A  second  roller  dashed  over  the  vessel 
and  for  a  brief  instant  she  was  forced  to  her  beam ; 
then  she  shook  herself  free,  righted,  met,  and 
mounted  a  terrific  avalanche  of  water  hurled  upon 
her  by  the  ocean. 

As  we  came  to  the  top  of  that  mighty  wave  we 
could  see  the  streams,  glistening  and  bright,  trick- 
ling down  the  sides  of  the  huge  boulders,  and  for 
one  awful  moment  listened  for  the  crash  that  would 
seal  our  doom.  For  an  instant  we  hung,  hovering 
over  that  foaming  cauldron  between  life  and  death, 
and  then,  with  every  sail  filled  by  the  gale,  the  brig 
took  one  triumphant  leap  out  from  the  shore  into 
the  open  sea,  beyond  the  outermost  rock  of  Cape 
Frio,  and,  with  the  booming  reverberations  of  the 
tumbling  surf  rapidly  receding  behind  us,  we  were 
safe. 

The  pumps  were  hastily  manned  to  ascertain 
whether  harm  had  been  done  by  the  rocks  we  had 
struck;   and  then,  when  the  spitting  at  the  spout 


Land — A  Very  Close  Shave      325 

assured  us  there  was  no  water  in  the  hold,  our 
tongues  found  vent: 

V  Mebbe  yeh  think  yeh  can  ketch  this  old  brig 
nappin' !  "  cried  one,  shaking  his  fist  at  the  boul- 
ders still  looming  behind  us. 

M  That  old  white-whiskered  chap  '11  wait  a  spell 
yit  for  'is  man  pie,  I  guess.  He  thought  he  had  us, 
though,  by  jings  if  he  did  n't,"  another  declared. 

So  it  went,  nearly  all  of  us  having  something  of 
like  weight  to  offer,  until  some  one  noticed  the 
absence  of  our  Portuguese  shipmates. 

"  All  hands  aft  and  answer  to  your  names," 
shouted  the  captain. 

The  roll  was  called  and  the  four  Portuguese  failed 
to  make  response.     They  were  not  on  the  deck. 

"  That  's  funny.  Queer  that  we  should  come 
in  here  jest  to  drop  them  fellers,  ain't  it.  Some  of 
yeh  see  if  yeh  can't  find  them  fellers  somewheres," 
directed  Mr.  Bowman. 

Jack  ran  to  the  forecastle  and  quickly  returned, 
holding  on  to  his  sides: 

"  The' — haw,  haw,  haw — they  're  all — he,  he,  he 
— they  're  all  down  in — in  the  foc'sle,  sir,  a— haw, 
haw,  haw — a-countin'  them  darned  beads,  sir.  Oh, 
oh,  oh !  but  you  'd  oughter  hear  'em  goin'  of  it,"  he 
reported. 

To  the  surprise  of  everybody,  the  captain  received 
the  report  without  a  show  of  anger,  and,  directing  an 


326  On  Board  a  Whaler 

examination  as  to  the  condition  of  the  decks,  turned 
abruptly  and  went  down  into  the  cabin. 

The  cook-house  had  been  torn  partly  loose  from 
its  fastenings,  and  was  somewhat  askew  on  the 
deck.  A  heavy  grindstone  had  been  washed  out  of 
its  frame  and  overboard.  The  mate's  boat  was 
badly  shattered,  and  several  oars  had  disappeared 
from  the  other  boats.  Many  smaller  things  that 
had  been  lying  loose  on  the  decks  were  subsequently 
missed  and  charged  to  the  account  of  that  night. 
But  no  irreparable  damage  had  been  done  to  the 
vessel,  and,  aside  from  a  few  bruises,  all  the  men 
were  safe. 

The  next  day,  during  his  watch  and  when' he 
should  have  remained  on  deck,  Jack  came  into  the 
forecastle  pretending  to  look  for  his  pipe,  but  in 
reality  to  unburden  his  mind  to  me.  He  seated  him- 
self on  my  chest  below  our  bunk,  and,  speaking  low 
so  as  not  to  disturb  the  sleepers  around  us,  began : 

"  Tom — Tom,  asleep  ?  " 

"  No-o-o,"  I  whispered.     "  What  's  up  ? " 

"  Did  yeh  know  the  old  man  flunked  last  night  ?  " 

M  Flunked!     Pshaw!" 

11  That  's  jest  what  he  done — clean  flunked,"  he 
persisted. 

"  Oh,  fudge  !  Clear  out  and  let  us  sleep.  Jack. 
That  *s  all  bosh,"  I  declared,  showing  my  im- 
patience. 


Land — A  Very  Close  Shave      327 

"  No,  't  ain't  bosh,  nuther.  I  know  jest  what 
I'm  talkin'  about.  True  's  your  alive  he  did — he 
flunked,"  Jack  went  on. 

"  I  happened  to  be  at  the  wheel  when  that  durned 
rock  fust  loomed  up.  I  guess  the  forrard  lookout 
must  have  been  asleep,  o'  suthin'.  Anyhow,  all  to 
wunst  I  heered  a  •  boo-oo-oo-oom-m-m,'  and  looked 
ahead  and  seen  that  dummed  foam  runnin'  up  there. 
Gee  whilikens  /  Hey!  Did  n't  it  make  a  feller 
cree-ep,  though.  But  I  hain't  talkin'  about  that 
now. 

"  I  stuck  my  head  down  the  cabin  gangway  and 
I  yells  a-whoopin' :  '  Breakers  slap  ahead,  an'  we  're 
right  a-top  of  'em ! '  Yeh  see,  Jim  and  Brown  must 
have  been  gassin'  som'ers — they  wa'  n't  nuther  one 
on  'em  in  sight  nowheres,  and  there  wa  'n't  no  time 
to  wait  for  orders,  so  I  jest  ups  an'  hollers  that  way 
down  the  gangway. 

"  Wa-al,  't  wa  'n't  two  shakes  of  a  lamb's  tail  after 
I  'd  hollered  afore  the  old  man  come  a-scootin'  up 
them  steps.  He  takes  one  look,  quick  like,  and 
then  he  grabs  the  wheel  and  gives  me  a  push  that 
mighty  nigh  sent  me  over  it. 

**  *  Here  you  !     Gimme  this! '  he  yells. 

M  You  know  how  he  is  when  he  's  hot.  '  Here, 
you,'  he  yells,  '  gimme  this! '  jest  that  way. 

"  After  he  'd  drove  me  off  from  the  wheel,  he 
took  another  look  ahead,  and — .     Wa-al,  suh,  yeh 


328  On  Board  a  Whaler 

could  jest  see  him  wilt.  In  a  half  a  secont,  he 
looked  like  a  dumb  idiot — looked  jest  as  if  he  did  n't 
know  nothin',  by  gum. 

"  Jest  then  up  comes  old  Bowman,  yawnin*  and 
pullin'  on  his  coat,  as  cool  like  as  if  nothin'  had  n't 
happened  and  wa  'n't  goin'  to  happen.  He  looks 
ahead  at  the  breakers  for  a  secont,  and  then  he 
looks  at  the  old  man  standing  there  at  the  wheel  a- 
gapin',  and  then,  all  to  wunst,  he  rips  out: 

44  4 be  you  goin'  to  stand  there 

like  a  durned  fool  and  do  nothin'? '  jest  like  that. 

44  Wa-al,  suh,  the  old  man  did  n't  open  a  peeper 
— did  n't  so  much  as  look  'round,  but  jest  stood 
there  with  his  mouth  wide  open  and  his  eyes  a- 
comin'  out  of  his  blamed  head  a-lookin'  at  them 
rocks  and  a-steerin'  us  straight  for  'em,  by  jinks. 
Yes,  suh,  he  was  just  a-headin'  square  into  the 
middle  of  'em,  by  ginger! 

44  Old  Bowman  looks  at  him  kinder  cur'ous  for  a 
jiffy,  and  then  he  yells  to  you  fellers  forrard  to  man 
the  braces,  and  then  he  steps  up  to  the  old  man  and 
bellers  suthin'  in  his  ear  that  I  could  n't  quite  ketch. 

44  That  seemed  to  bring  the  old  man  to  a  bit,  for 
he  sent  that  wheel  'round  a-whizzin',  but  yeh  could 
see  by  the  way  he  acted  he  was  rattled  yit. 

44  After  that  old  Bowman  jest  hustled— you  know. 
Jim  and  Brown  had  got  waked  up  afore  that  and 
things  was  gittin'  too  darned  lively  to  keep  any  sort 


Land — A  Very  Close  Shave      329 

of  track  of.  Jiminy!  but  hain't  old  Macy  got  a 
bugle  on  'im,  though!  I  '11  bet  them  niggers  that 
was  a-waitin'  for  us  ashore  back  there  could  hear  'im 
when  he  hollered. 

"  Wa-al,  we  got  the  spanker  hauled  in  where  she 
b'longed,  and  you  fellers  forrard  got  things  to  pullin' 
all  right  there,  and  then  we  tumbled  into  that  fust 
trough  and  you  got  h'isted.  Don't  b'lieve  yeh  've 
forgot  that,  have  yeh  ?  "  And  Jack  grinned  over 
the  edge  of  the  bunk  at  me. 

"  We  got  out  of  that  all  hunky  and  was  a-settlin' 
into  the  next  one,  when  a  reg'lar  old  sock-dolliger 
come  a-pilin'  up  higher,  and  higher,  and  higher,  'till 
I  swow,  it  looked  as  if  the  whole  dummed  ocean 
was  comin'  in  a-top  of  us.  It  did  look  owly,  and 
no  mistake.  By  gum,  but  it  did  look  owly  enough, 
and  that  was  when  the  old  man  flunked." 

By  this  time  I  was  interested,  and,  resting  on  my 
elbows,  lay  looking  down  upon  Jack,  who  went 
eagerly  on : 

"  I  '11  tell  yeh  what  he  done — then  see  if  he 
did  n't  flunk.  He  jest  natchully  left  that  wheel 
and  climbed  head  over  heels  into  the  mate's  boat. 
That  's  jest  what  he  done,  by  ginger!  Yessuh,  left 
the  wheel  and  piled  into  that  boat,  and  stayed  there; 
and  if  old  Bowman  had  n't  grabbed  that  wheel  and 
flung  'er  back  we  'd  a  been  beggin'  St.  Peter  to  take 
us  off  of  that  rock  out  o'  the  cold.     That  's  what 


33°  On  Board  a  Whaler 

we  'd  a  been  a-doin'  afore  yeh  could  say  '  Jack 
Robinson,' — jest  a-beggin'  for  a  berth  in  the  good 
place,  by  ginger." 

Jack  stopped  and  we  remained  silent  for  a  moment 
before  he  resumed : 

M  Too  all-fired  bad,  wa'  n't  it!  Somehow  I  allers 
s'posed  the  old  man  was  grit  clean  through,  and 
I  '11  be  darned  if  I  hain't  sorry  this  thing  happened. 
If  it  had  n't  been  for  that,  we  'd  never  known  he 
could  be  so  scart." 

He  paused  as  if  expecting  me  to  say  something, 
and  then  suddenly  asked : 

11  Did  yeh  ever  see  me  scart,  Tom  ?  " 

"No.     Not  as  I  know  of.     Why?" 

"  I  was  jest  wonderin',  that 's  all.  A  feller  don't 
allers  show  ev'rything  he  feels,  does  'e  ?  " 

I  was  not  ready  to  reply  before  he  went  on: 

"  Come  to  think  of  it,  I  don't  b'lieve  I  ever  saw 
you  scared  nuther — not  when  yeh  looked  it,  I  mean. 
Don't  yeh  never  git  some  skittish,  once  in  a 
while  ?  " 

"Me?  Well,"  I  parried,  "  I  don't  know,  but  I 
don't  believe  there  's  a  man  aboard  here  that  dares 
to  tell  just  how  he  did  feel  last  night." 

Jack  picked  up  a  foot  and  fumbled  with  the  toe 
of  his  shoe  a  few  seconds,  and  then  sat  up  and 
looked  me  fairly  in  the  face : 

"  Wa-al,  mebbe  you  're  right,  but  I  want  to  say 


Land — A  Very  Close  Shave      33 T 

right  here,  my  hair  mighty  nigh  lifted  my  hat. 
That  's  how  /  felt.  It  was  dummed  hard  work  to 
keep  goin',  I  tell  yeh;  and  if  I  had  n't  got  'round 
putty  lively,  I  'd  a  flunked  too,  and  I  don't  care 
who  knows  it,  nuther.  More  'n  that,"  he  con- 
tinued   excitedly,    "I  'm  ready   to  lick  any 

on  the  ship  that  says  he  wa'  n't  scart,  too.    Darn 

it!  I  don't  blame  the  old  man  for  being  scared. 
Anybody  that  wa'  n't  a  fool  would  a  been  scared 
blamed  nigh  out  of  his  skin,  by  gum.  What  I  de- 
spise him  for  is  for  showin  it  the  way  he  did.  By 
ginger,  I  was  scared  enough,  but  I  did  n't  blubber, 
nor  flunk,  as  he  done. 

M  I  dunno  's  that  's  quite  right,  nuther,"  he 
added,  reflectively.  "  Mebbe  it  's  all  right  to  show 
you  're  scared.  That  's  only  honest,  and  a  man 
can't  help  his  looks.  But  je'st  because  yeh  happen 
to  be  afraid,  yeh  don't  have  to  give  in  and  run. 
There  hain't  no  use  in  that,  and  the  man  that  does 
it  hain't  much  account." 

We  were  agreed  upon  this  point,  and  Jack  went 
on  deck. 


CHAPTER    XXX 

CHUMMING— AUTHORITY — INDISCRETION 

AFTER  the  mishap  at  Cape  Frio  we  kept  well 
off  from  the  coast,  but  it  was  becoming  im- 
peratively necessary  that  we  land  somewhere.  Not 
only  had  we  no  vegetables,  but  the  water  supply 
was  becoming  dangerously  short.  It  was  not  now 
so  much  a  question  of  the  quality  as  it  was  of  the 
quantity.  The  water  had  passed  through  all  the 
stages  of  decay  and  revivification  of  which  it  was 
capable,  and  what  there  was  left  of  it  was  better  for 
drinking  purposes  than  it  had  been  two  months 
earlier.  It  had  become  first  warm,  then  slimy, 
afterwards  ropey,  before  it  got  to  be  jelly,  and  had 
finally  entered  upon  a  retrograde  movement  and  be- 
come merely  ill-smelling  warm  water.  The  changes 
in  it  had  come  about  by  easy  stages,  and  after  so 
much  practice  the  water  that  we  could  not  have 
drank  must  have  been  very  bad  indeed.  But  it  was 
essential  to  a  continuance  of  the  voyage  by  us  that 
we  have  some  kind  of  water,  and  unless  the  supply 

332 


Chumming  333 

were  soon  replenished  there  would  be  none  at  all  on 
board. 

It  was,  therefore,  with  a  good  deal  of  anxiety 
and  more  than  the  usual  amount  of  grumbling  in 
the  forecastle  that  we  sailed  during  the  succeeding 
two  weeks  with  no  further  sight  of  land.  Then, 
one  morning  we  awoke  to  find  the  island  of  Anna- 
bon,  low  down,  distant  and  blue,  but  directly  ahead. 
The  breeze  was  very  light  and  it  was  not  until  the 
middle  of  the  afternoon  that  we  came  near  enough 
to  the  land  to  make  out  its  low  hills  and  green 
foliage,  and  to  see  an  occasional  hut  scattered  along 
its  shores. 

Then,  as  we  approached  still  nearer,  several  long 
canoes  loaded  with  negroes  paddled  alongside  the 
brig,  and  fifty  or  more  of  them  came  swarming  upon 
our  decks,  every  man  of  them  vociferating  at  the  top 
of  his  voice : 

'*  You  me  chum — you  me  chum." 

In  a  moment  every  member  of  our  crew  was  sur- 
rounded by  several  of  these  darkies,  each  screaming 
his  bit  of  English  in  his  frantic  efforts  to  secure  ex- 
clusive attention  to  his  mission.  The  din  was  tre- 
mendous, and  it  was  some  minutes  before  a  chance 
came  to  me  to  inquire  of  Mr.  Bowman : 

'*  What  in  thunder  do  these  fellows  want,  sir  ? " 

"  Oh,  yeh  've  got  to  take  one  of  'em  for  a  chum 
— that  's  all.     He  '11  take  yeh  in  tow  as  soon  as  yeh 


334  On  Board  a  Whaler 

git  ashore,  and  give  yeh  all  the  cocoanuts  and 
bananas  yeh  want,  and  fill  yeh  up  with  his  blasted 
liquor — fix  yeh  out  with  any  blamed  thing  yeh  ask 
for  that  they  've  got;  but  ye  '11  have  to  give  him 
your  soul  and  body  and  more  too — if  yeh  can  git 
any  more  to  give  him.  They  '11  treat  yeh  fust  rate 
— yeh  need  n't  be  afraid  of  'em.  If  yeh  give  'em 
all  yeh  've  got,  they  '11  give  you  all  they  've  got. 
They  're  fair,  but  they  're  jest  like  any  other  land 
shark,  they  mean  to  pick  yeh  clean,"  he  told 
me. 

With  this  understanding  of  the  matter,  I  selected 
an  enormous  negro  whose  mirthful  eyes  spoke  of 
good-natured  jollity,  and,  reaching  out  my  hand  to 
him,  shouted  above  the  hubbub: 

M  Here,  I  '11  take  you.  You  're  the  chap  I  want 
for  my  chum." 

So  far  as  I  was  concerned,  that  settled  the  com- 
motion. I  had  secured  a  guardian  who  would  per- 
mit no  interference  with  my  person  while  on  the 
island,  except  such  as  should  be  approved  by  us 
jointly.  I  was  the  special  bird  set  apart  for  his 
picking,  and  his  vigilance  against  trespasser  during 
our  stay  was  as  unceasing  as  it  was  successful. 
Everything  the  land  afforded  for  my  pleasure  was 
forthcoming  at  the  slightest  hint  from  me,  at  a  cost 
that  proved  the  character  given  to  chums  in  general 
by  the  mate  to  be  slanderous. 


Authority — Indiscretion  335 

We  soon  dropped  anchor  opposite  a  collection  of 
huts  that  made  up  the  town,  and  proceeded  to  make 
things  snug  in  the  rigging  and  on  the  decks.  The 
sails  had  all  been  furled,  and  we  were  clearing  the 
decks  of  loose  ropes,  when  I  overheard  a  conversa- 
tion between  the  captain  and  Mr.  Bowman : 

M  Hullo!  guess  that  must  be  the  gov'nor  comin* 
yonder." 

"  Ye-ah,  prob'bly  't  is.  They  say  these  fellers 
have  a  new  governor  for  ev'ry  ship  that  comes  in 
here.  The'  hain't  no  more  account  than  any  other 
nigger  when  they  're  ashore;  but  jest  as  soon  as  a 
ship  is  sighted,  a  feller  is  rigged  up  to  come  aboard 
and  live  in  the  cabin  as  long  as  she  stays,  and  then, 
when  she  sails,  he  's  ended  and  goes  about  his  busi- 
ness like  any  ordinary  darky.  I  've  heard  say  they 
have  to  go  through  a  whole  lot  of  tomfoolery  to  git 
a  chance  to  play  governor — I  dunno  what  all;  but 
it  's  suthin'  the  priests  make  'em  go  through — a  lot 
a  folderol  they  're  allers  up  to.  Fact  is,  the  priest 
is  the  only  governor  they  've  got,  and  he  makes 
'em  dance  to  his  tunes  jest  as  he  dum  pleases,  too," 
declared  the  mate. 

M  Wa-al,  anyway,  I  s'pose  we  've  got  to  take  the 
old  devil  aboard,  whatever  he  is.  I  kinder  hate  to 
— dunno  what  to  do  with  'im.  I  sort  of  hate  to 
put  'im  in  with  one  o'  the  boat-steerers,  and  there 
don't  seem  to  be  no  other  place.     We  hain't  got  no 


336  On  Board  a  Whaler 

room  for  'im  aboard,  but  I  s'pose  we  '11  have  to 
stow  'im  somewheres." 

M  Bunk  'im  in  with  the  steward — he  's  putty  nigh 
that  color,"  suggested  Mr.  Bowman. 

The  captain  beamed  as  he  glanced  at  me.  H  By 
George!  that  's  jest  the  ticket.  That  's  what  I  '11 
do.  The'  hain't  more  'n  two  shades  difference 
twixt  'em.  Ye-ah,  that  's  what  I  '11  do.  I  vum, 
that  's  jest  the  ticket." 

Mr.  Brown  was  then  summoned,  and,  guarding 
his  voice  lest  it  be  overheard  by  the  occupants  of 
the  approaching  craft,  the  master  instructed  him : 

"  You  meet  the  old  cuss,  Mr.  Brown,  and  be  as 
polite  and  palaverin'  as  yeh  know  how.  These  sort 
of  chaps  are  easy  'nough  tickled,  and  you  can 
always  ketch  more  flys  with  merlasses  than  yeh  can 
with  vinegar.  You  '11  come  a  heap  nigher  to 
havin'  things  your  way  if  they  think  they  're  some 
punkins  than  yeh  will  if  yeh  go  to  settin'  down  on 
'em.  Be  as  slick  to  'im  as  yeh  can,  and  don't  be 
afraid  of  raisin'  y'r  hat  to  the  old  devil — 't  won't 
hurt  none,  and  we  '11  git  along  best  that  way." 

Thus  cued,  Mr.  Brown  passed  on  forward,  and 
presently  bawled : 

"  Bring  along  a  ladder  here  for  the  gov'nor. 
Lively,  now!  Drop  a  ladder  for  the  gov'nor  here, 
somebody." 

As  it  paddled  alongside  the  canoe   was   lost   to 


Authority — Indiscretion  337 

sight  of  me,  and  I  was  obliged  to  wait  for  a  closer 
view  of  the  great  man.  He  was  either  not  a  ready 
climber,  or  else,  what  is  quite  as  probable,  he  was 
anxious  to  impress  us  with  his  dignity,  for  it  was 
fully  two  minutes  after  he  reached  our  side  before 
any  sign  of  him  appeared  above  the  rail.  Then  a 
naval  cap,  encircled  by  a  bright,  gilt  band  rose,  fol- 
lowed by  a  shock  of  grayish  wool  surrounding  a 
face  strongly  suggestive  of  our  lamented  Jacko,  and 
a  pair  of  lack-lustre  brown  eyes  were  surveying  us 
from  over  the  railing.  The  next  step  on  the  ladder 
brought  into  view  a  very  high  collar,  once  starched 
white  and  stiff,  but  now  hanging  limp  and  yellow 
about  the  black  neck.  In  front  of  and  beneath  this 
collar  was  an  immense  scarlet  necktie,  while  be- 
tween the  lapels  of  a  navy-blue  coat,  what  had  been 
a  white  shirt  bosom  shone  forth,  dirty,  wrinkled, 
and  sallow.  Then,  as  he  continued  to  rise,  two  brass 
buttons  added  brilliancy  to  the  coat,  and  there  was 
more  shirt  in  the  open  space  at  the  front  of  the 
august  person. 

The  governor  had  now  risen  as  high  as  the  ladder 
alone  would  bring  him,  and,  with  an  air  of  con- 
temptuous indifference  to  Mr.  Brown,  who  stood 
smiling,  bobbing,  and  bowing  awkwardly,  surveyed 
the  brig  for  fully  a  minute  without  stirring  a  muscle. 

Mr.  Brown  was  a  nervous  man,  who  had  a  violent 
dislike  for  anything   not  wholly    sincere,  and   the 


338  On  Board  a  Whaler 

conduct  of  this  negro  must  have  taxed  his  patience 
to  its  limit,  but  he  stepped  forward  now  with  every 
show  of  respect : 

"  Sha'  n't  we  help  you,  sir  ?  " 

Then,  still  speaking  suavely,  but  to  the  boys 
gathered  at  the  waist : 

"  Here.  A  couple  of  yeh  git  up  here  and  boost 
'im  over." 

11  No,  no,  no,  suh.  I  don'  wan'  no  help,  suh. 
No,  suh,  no,  suh.  I  c'n  git  aboard  'thout  no 
'sistance,  suh,"  the  governor  hastened  to  declare,  in 
plain  alarm  at  the  offer  of  the  officer.  "  I  c'n  git 
aboard,  suh." 

Tilted  on  its  side,  clinging  as  it  glided  along  the 
top  of  the  rail,  a  naked  black  foot  suddenly  appeared, 
followed  instantly  by  a  long,  thin  shank  equally 
devoid  of  covering,  and  then,  with  a  quick  whirl, 
the  governor  came  sprawlinginboard,  landing  in  a 
rumpled  heap  upon  the  deck. 

1  •  Haw,  haw — hope  yeh  did  n't  hurt  yourself,  sir  ? 
He,  he,  he — I  'm  mighty  sorry  yeh  fell,  sir,"  Mr. 
Brown  hurried  to  say  as  he  bent  over  the  prostrate 
negro.  "  You  'd  better  have  let  me  help  you  over, 
sir." 

"  No,  suh,  no,  suh,  no,  suh.  Ise  all  right,  I  is. 
Ise  all  right,  suh,"  the  governor  insisted,  scram- 
bling hastily  upon  his  feet  and  trying  to  resume  his 
dignity. 


Authority — Indiscretion  339 

The  show  had  already  been  sufficiently  ridiculous, 
but  as  the  governor  rose  before  us  now,  exposing  his 
long  black  legs  below  the  blue  coat,  contrasted  with 
the  tails  of  the  shirt  which  hung  around  them,  the 
impulse  to  shout  with  laughter  was  irresistible,  and 
for  a  minute  the  brig  resounded  with  my  shrieks. 

I  was  on  the  quarter-deck  near  the  captain  at  the 
time,  and  he  turned  upon  me  savagely : 

'  •  Shut  up — shut  up,  I  tell  yeh,  you  giggling  fool, 
you  !  Shut  up,"  he  roared.  "  Don't  yeh  know  no 
better  'n  to  make  a  hellabaloo  like  this  right  now! 
Shet  up,  I  tell  yeh,  or  I  '11  have  yeh  h'isted  by  the 
thumbs." 

But  my  fit  was  past  all  control,  and  its  contagion 
quickly  spread  until  the  entire  crew  was  convulsed 
with  mirth.  Even  the  captain  succumbed  to  it,  and 
it  was  more  than  a  minute  before  he. was  able  to 
bawl: 

"Jack,  put  that  dummed  little  idiot  in  the  fo'c'sle 
and  keep  'im  down  there  'til  he  's  wanted  on  deck." 

Jack  led  me  in  disgrace  down  into  our  den,  where 
he  stayed  with  me  long  enough  to  say: 

"  Darn  it,  Tom,  quit  your  laffin'.  If  yeh  don't, 
the  old  man  '11  be  mad  and  yeh  won't  git  ashore.  I 
don't  b'lieve  he  cares  much  yit ;  but  I  would  n't 
wonder  if  yeh  'd  made  a  putty  bad  break  of  it. 
That  old  monkey  looked  pesky  glum  when  he 
heered  yeh  bust  out  up  there.     Oh,  come,  come, 


34°  On  Board  a  Whaler 

now!  I  '11  bet  they  can  hear  yeh  clean  aft  this 
minute.  Quit  it,  I  tell  yeh,  or,  likely  's  not,  yeh 
won't  git  ashore  at  all." 

The  idea  of  losing  my  liberty  on  shore  was  serious 
enough  to  check  my  laughter  for  the  moment,  and 
the  fear  of  having  compromised  the  captain  in  the 
estimation  of  the  governor  was  not  pleasant  to  think 
about,  so  I  managed  to  control  myself  to  say : 

"  I  could  n't  help  it,  Jack — I  just  could  n't  help 
it.  Did  you  ever  see  such  an  old  baboon?  "  The 
picture  rose  so  vividly  before  my  mind  then  that  I 
shrieked  again  in  a  second  convulsion. 

Jack  squelched  the  fit  by  suddenly  slinging  me 
across  the  forecastle  floor.  "  Mebbe  I  'd  better 
punch  a  little  sense  into  yeh,"  he  said.  "  Darned 
if  I  had  n't  oughter.  But  I  don't  want  to  stay 
down  here  all  night,"  he  continued.  "  The  old 
man  said  you  waVt  to  come  up  'til  yeh  was  wanted, 
so  you  stay  down  here,"  he  commanded,  and  left 
me  to  myself. 

After  an  hour  had  passed  with  no  call  for  me, 
rightly  believing  the  captain  had  forgotten  the  in- 
cident, I  ventured  up  on  deck,  and  nothing  more 
was  said  to  me  about  the  affair  until  some  days  after 
we  had  left  the  island.  Then  Mr.  Bowman  confided 
to  me: 

**  You  come  mighty  close  to  cookin'  our  goose 
with  that  durned  laff  of  your'n  t'  other  day.    It  took 


Authority — Indiscretion  34 T 

a  whole  lot  a  pattin'  on  the  back  and  a  deal  sight  o' 
ticklin'  of  the  old  fool  's  throat  to  git  him  smoothed 
down  after  it.  He  caught  on  and  was  mad  as  a 
hornet  for  a  spell ;  but  the  old  man  's  putty  slick  and 
rubbed  him  the  right  way  'til  he  got  the  fur  straight- 
ened out  again.  Guess  yeh  'd  better  be  more  care- 
ful how  yeh  git  to  giggling  another  time,  had  n't 
yeh,  or  we  '11  have  to  take  the  damages  out  of  your 
lay,  yeh  know." 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

PRESENTS — MERCHANDISE— SCIENCE 

BEFORE  the  arrival  of  the  governor  at  the  brig, 
our  first  visitors  had  left  us  and  gone  ashore, 
and  as  I  came  on  deck  after  my  confinement  in  the 
forecastle,  they  had  just  returned  and  were  clamber- 
ing in  over  the  bulwarks.  The  man  whom  I  had 
chosen  as  my  chum  at  once  espied  me  and  came 
running  forward  extending  a  bunch  of  lusciously  ripe 
bananas : 

"  Me  give — you  give,"  he  grinningly  announced. 

M  All  right,  me  give.  Come  on,  Chummy,"  I  re- 
sponded quickly,  and  led  the  way  down  into  the 
forecastle. 

The  place  was  already  filled  to  suffocation  by  the 
other  boys  and  their  chums,  all  of  them  talking, 
jabbering,  and  laughing  at  once.  So  I  threw  my 
bananas  into  my  bunk,  and,  securing  an  old  pair  of 
pantaloons  from  my  trunk,  immediatey  went  back 
on  deck,  followed  eagerly  by  my  chum. 

As  I  presented  my  gift  to  the  big  fellow,  I  knew 
342 


Presents — Merchandise — Science  343 

I  had  struck  the  right  chord  in  his  heart,  and  that 
he  was  forever  mine. 

I  was  five  feet  five  inches  tall,  and  rather  slender 
for  even  that  height,  while  my  chum  stood  six  feet 
and  some  inches  in  his  bare  feet,  and  was  propor- 
tioned to  suit  his  length. 

The  cloth  of  the  pantaloons  was  of  good  material 
and  for  several  minutes  defied  every  effort  of  the 
giant  to  force  an  eight-inch  leg  through  a  five-inch 
hole,  but  it  was  finally  compelled  to  stretch  away 
and  my  chum  was  arrayed.  The  garment  failed  by 
some  inches  to  reach  around  the  fellow's  body  at 
the  waist,  and  the  seams  had  been  badly  split  in 
places  in  getting  it  on,  but  the  beaming  face  look- 
ing down  at  me  abundantly  testified  that  the  fit 
was  quite  satisfactory  to  the  donee. 

This  first  trial  to  please  my  chum  had  been  so  suc- 
cessful that  I  determined  to  try  again,  and,  going 
again  into  the  forecastle,  brought  out  an  old  hat 
bequeathed  to  me  by  Johnson  at  the  time  of  his 
desertion.  In  its  day  this  hat  had  been  a  fairly 
good  one,  but  now  its  band  was  mostly  dried  gud- 
geon and  its  crown  but  little  more  than  holes.  Yet 
in  style  it  still  ranked  scarcely  below  that  of  the  cap 
worn  by  the  governor,  and  the  countenance  of  my 
chum  looked  the  picture  of  bliss  as  he  donned  it. 
No  face  could  possibly  have  expressed  more  of 
genuine  delight  than  shone  upon  every  wrinkle,  con- 


344  On  Board  a  Whaler 

tortion,  and  play  of  the  black  face  that  grinned  at 
me  from  under  that  old  hat. 

By  this  time  most  of  the  other  darkies  had  come 
on  deck  from  the  forecastle,  and,  my  offerings  being 
now  complete,  my  chum  proceeded  to  parade  most 
shamefully  before  his  less  fortunate  comrades.  Back 
and  forth,  back  and  forth,  from  the  bow  to  the  edge 
of  the  quarter-deck,  the  fellow  went,  now  lifting 
one  heel  and  then  the  other  in  sidling  twists  to  get 
a  sight  of  the  legs  of  the  pantaloons,  now  raising 
his  hat  high  above  his  head  or  taking  it  down  to 
smooth  and  adore  it,  and  all  the  time  strutting 
about  among  the  other  darkies,  oblivious  of  every- 
thing except  his  new  possessions  and  his  pride.  No 
dandy  was  ever  more  proud  in  displaying  his 
clothes  than  was  my  chum  in  thus  parading  himself 
on  our  deck. 

If  my  chum  had  hoped  to  excite  either  the  ad- 
miration or  the  envy  of  his  countrymen  in  thus  ex- 
hibiting himself,  he  signally  failed.  Every  man  of 
them  was  now  absorbed  in  admiration  for  his  own 
particular  acquisitions,  and  paid  not  the  slightest 
attention  to  the  antics  of  my  guardian.  One  strug- 
gled with  a  refractory  coat  sleeve;  another  limped 
about  in  pumps  three  sizes  too  small  for  his  feet 
and  airy  at  the  toes ;  still  another,  in  transports  of 
ecstatic  feeling,  stood  gazing  at  the  tranquil  face  of 
the  father  of  our  country,  printed  on  a  red  cotton 


Presents — Merchandise — Science  345 

handkerchief.  All  alike  flaunted  their  finery  in  the 
faces  of  the  others,  and  all  were  uproariously  merry 
— a  crowd  of  child  men,  each  member  of  which 
knew  only  of  himself. 

It  was  a  show  to  be  keenly  enjoyed  by  boys  such 
as  we  were,  and  we  vied  with  each  other  in  keeping 
it  going  fast  and  furious,  until  darkness  settled  upon 
the  scene,  and  our  guests,  chattering  and  screaming 
in  great  good  nature  among  themselves,  left  us  for 
the  night,  to  go  ashore,  while  some  of  us  wondered 
whether  riches  or  knowledge  were  really  sources  of 
much  of  human  happiness. 

The  brig  carried  an  assortment  of  trinkets  suit- 
able for  trading  purposes  at  such  islands,  which  the 
captain  was  in  the  habit  of  selling  to  us  at  rather 
exorbitant  prices  to  be  taken  out  of  our  income  on 
the  final  settlement  at  home;  and  when  it  was  an- 
nounced the  next  morning  that  the  mate's  watch 
would  be  given  liberty  on  shore  for  that  day,  we 
went  aft  to  get  something  with  which  to  pay  our 
ways  to  good  times.  We  had  not  finished  choosing 
our  outfits,  when  our  chums  came  alongside  in  their 
canoes. 

With  the  usual  grin  and  hutching  of  his  shoul- 
ders, my  own  chum  came  to  greet  me,  and  was 
about  to  reiterate  his  four  or  five  words  of  English, 
when,  suddenly  looking  out  at  sea,  he  yelled : 

"  Hy,  yi,  yi— HY!  " 


346  On  Board  a  Whaler 

He  had  seen  a  school  of  blackfish,  lazily  disport- 
ing, scarcely  half  a  mile  from  the  brig. 
Man  the  boats,"  shouted  the  captain. 

And,  forgetting  all  about  our  liberty,  an  hour 
later  we  towed  four  of  the  little  whales  alongside, 
and,  setting  our  chums  to  work  at  the  windlass, 
soon  had  them  in  on  deck,  ready  to  be  cut  up  and 
sold  at  retail  to  the  islanders,  or  tried  out  for  their 
oil,  as  should  seem  to  the  captain  best. 

Then  the  governor  came  pompously  from  the 
cabin  to  ask: 

44  Is  you  gwine  try  dese  out,  suh  ?  " 

The  question  had  been  addressed  to  Mr.  Bowman, 
who  answered  cautiously : 

44  Dunno,  yit.  That  '11  be  as  the  old  man  says, 
but  I  guess  likely  we  will,  though." 

The  governor  turned  rather  anxiously  to  the  cap- 
tain, who  was  coming  from  the  cabin: 

Is  yo'  gwine  try  dese,  or  sell  'em,  suh  ?"  he 
inquired. 

44  Wa-al,  that  's  accordin'  to  what yoti  say,"  the 
captain  answered  with  a  show  of  deference.  Then, 
as  the  governor's  face  beamed,  the  master  con- 
tinued: 4<  I  thought  mebbe  I  'd  give  one  of  'em  to 
you,  and  sort  of  peddle  the  rest  of  'em  out  for  stuff 
ashore.  Do  yeh  s'pose  we  could  git  anything  wuth 
while  for  'em — water,  or  yams,  or  sech  truck  ?  " 

44  Yessuh,  yessuh.     I  c'n  'range  it,  suh,"  the  gov- 


Presents — Merchandise — Science  347 

ernor  declared  with  some  animation.  Then,  beckon- 
ing to  one  of  the  darkies  in  the  crowd  on  the  deck 
and  presenting  him  to  the  captain,  he  continued 
volubly : 

"  Dis  yuh  man  is  an  oV  whaler,  suh,  same  's  I 
be,  suh.  We  's  bof  of  us  sailed  f'om  New  Bedford, 
suh,  an'  he  's  a  'liable  man,  suh,  an'  talks  de  lan- 
guage puffickly — puffickly,  suh.  Yo  's  gwine  need  a 
'terpreter  to  transcribe  de  language,  yo'  is  sure 
'nough,  suh.  Yo'  is  sure  want  somebuddy  to  talk. 
Yo'  sure  does,  suh." 

M  Yessuh,  yo'  sure  does,  suh,"  declared  the  candi- 
date for  the  office  of  interpreter,  stepping  forward 
and  speaking  glibly.  "  Yo'  sure  is  want  a  'terpre- 
ter here,  suh — yo'  sure  is.  Ise  a  whaler,  suh.  Ise 
sailed  fo'  years,  an'  I  knows  'Merican,  an'  I  knows 
the  langwidge  here,  suh.  Sure  'nough,  suh,  I  c'n 
circumwent  de  langwidge  here  fus'  class,  suh,  an'  I 
almos'  gen'lly  'terprets  here  for  gemmen  what 
comes  here,  suh." 

*'  All  right,  then,"  the  captain  agreed.  "  What  's 
your  name,  my  man  ?  " 

The  darky  grinned  broadly  and  touched  the 
wool  on  top  of  his  head  as  he  replied : 

"Thomas  Jefferson,  suh  —  Thomas  Jefferson  's 
my  name,  suh." 

"  By  gum,  I  guess  you  're  the  real  stuff  all  right 
then.     Wa-al,  suppose  you    begin    to   circumwent 


348  On  Board  a  Whaler 

your  darned  gab  right  now,  and  I  '11  give  yeh  a 
good  hunk  of  blubber  for  talking  for  me  while  I  'm 
here.  Jest  tell  these  fellers  that  I  want  'em  to 
hustle  a  lot  a  yams  aboard.  Or,  better  yit,  if 
they  've  got  any  sort  of  pertaters,  tell  'em  to  fetch 
them  along.  And  tell  'em  we  want  all  the  pine- 
apples and  cocoanuts  and  bananas  we  can  eat  — 
any  durned  thing  they  've  got  that  's  fit  for  a  man 
to  eat,  tell  'em  to  bring  along  and  we  '11  trade  'em 
meat  for  it.  Tell  'em  to  git  a  hustle  on  'em,  'cause 
we  hain't  goin'  to  stay  'round  here  always,  not  by 
a  jugful,  and  if  their  stuff  hain't  aboard  when  we 
git  ready  to  go,  they  won't  sell  it  to  us." 

A  moment  later  the  natives  had  left  the  brig  for 
shore  to  secure  trading  materials. 

Of  course,  these  people  should  not  have  been 
fond  of  whale  blubber.  Whale  blubber  is  of  all 
foods  perhaps  the  greatest  heat  producer.  We 
were  only  two  degrees  from  the  equator,  exposed 
to  a  scorching  sun,  and  iced  drinks  would  seem  the 
proper  thing.  We  should  expect  the  Esquimaux 
at  the  poles  to  clamor  for  our  grease;  but  who 
could  have  dreamed  that  these  people  would  ex- 
change cooling  fruits  for  such  stuff ! 

Yet  the  barter  was  eagerly  accepted  by  the 
islanders,  and  our  vessel  was  soon  cloyed  with 
green  cocoanuts,  ripe  bananas,  delicious  pineapples, 
sweet  potatoes,  and  juicy  yams,  traded  for  our  fat. 


Presents — Merchandise — Science     349 

Not  only  did  they  crave  the  meat,  but  every  man  of 
them  haggled  for  the  oiliest  parts  of  it.  Not  a 
pound  of  the  muscular  fibre  could  be  disposed  of 
by  us  while  a  vestige  of  the  blubber  remained  on 
the  carcases.  So  greedy  were  these  people  for  the 
oil  that  many  of  them  left  the  brig  sucking  pieces 
of  the  blubber  precisely  as  they  might  have  sucked 
at  a  watermelon,  while  on  shore  I  saw  numbers  of 
men,  women,  and  children  lapping  the  oil  from 
pieces  of  blubber  they  had  laid  in  the  sun  to  dry. 
It  was  an  exhibition  of  beastliness  not  the  less  dis- 
gusting for  being  contrary  to  what  might  have  been 
expected  in  the  tropics. 


\Jf  4i  \^*^J  "^^ 

JwSbm 

CHAPTER   XXXII 

A   CAPSIZE   AND   ENTERTAINMENT 

i 

IT  was  afternoon  before  we  shoved  away  from  the 
brig  to  land  for  our  first  run  on  the  shore. 

As  had  been  the  case  at  several  places  we  had 
landed  at  before,  there  was  no  real  harbor  at  Anna- 
bon — nothing  but  a  bend  in  the  shore  line,  open  its 
whole  length  to  the  sea.  The  water  was  sufficiently 
shallow  near  shore  to  admit  of  anchorage,  and  the 
island  was  seldom  subjected  to  dangerous  storms; 
but  for  miles  we  could  see  the  long  rolls  of  white 
surf  from  the  brig,  and  could  hear  its  booming  roar 
as  it  tumbled  in  upon  the  yellow  beach. 

Mr.  Bowman  took  the  watch  ashore,  the  captain 
remaining  on  board  to  barter  the  fish.  Jim  had 
charge  of  our  boat,  the  mate  going  in  his  own. 

As  we  came  to  the  edge  of  the  rollers,  Mr.  Bow- 
man inquired : 

"  Did  yeh  ever  land  through  a  surf  like  this, 
Jim  ?" 

"  Ye-us,  I  've  been  through  lots  of  times,  but 
350 


A  Capsize  and  Entertainment     35 l 

somebody  else  was  allers  bossin'  the  trick.     I  guess 
I  can  make  it,  though,"  Jim  replied. 

It  's  a  leetle  ticklish,  yeh  know.  Mebbe  yeh  'd 
better  wait  and  watch  us  go  through  fust.  If  yeh 
hit  the  right  wave  yeh  '11  be  likely  to  come  through 
right  side  up;  but  if  yeh  happen  to  git  the  wrong 
one — zip!  yeh  '11  go."  The  mate  illustrated  his 
meaning  further  by  swinging  his  arms  over  his 
head  as  though  about  to  dive.  "  You  keep  an  eye 
on  us  and  see  how  we  do  it,  and  I  guess  you  '11 
fetch  it  all  right." 

The  mate  carefully  adjusted  his  boat,  watched  for 
the  right  moment,  and  then  shouted : 

"  Send  'er  now,  boys." 

The  men  laid  back  upon  their  oars  with  a  will, 
and  the  boat  shot  in  upon  the  rushing  wave,  where 
she  was  caught  by  the  natives  waiting  on  the  sand, 
and  carried  bodily  high  and  dry. 

As  we  saw  the  mate's  boat  gliding  steadily  in 
upon  the  foaming  water,  and  noticed  how  easily  the 
blacks  lifted  it  and  dashed  up  the  beach,  there  ap- 
peared to  be  neither  trouble  nor  danger  in  store  for 
us. 

It  was  our  turn  to  go  through  the  surf  now,  but 
to  my  surprise  Jim  hesitated  about  attempting  it. 
For  several  minutes  we  sat,  oars  in  hand,  waiting 
the  order  to  pull,  but  our  leader  stared  vacantly 
ahead,  finally  only  to  burst  out  with : 


352  On  Board  a  Whaler 

"  Wa-al,  boys,  I  '11  be  goll-darned  if  I  know 
which  one  o'  them  waves  to  take,  now.  Did  any  of 
yeh  take  notice  which  one  of  'em  them  fellers  went 
in  on  ?" 

The  crew  was  dumb.     Not  one  of  us  knew. 

'*  That  's    a   of  a    note,   hain't    it!      Told 

us  we  'd  have  to  take  the  right  roller,  and  then 
never  told  us  which  one  the  right  one  was!  By 
ginger,  we  'd  oughter  be  ducked,  though,  for  not 
askin'." 

In  vain  Jim  tried  to  obtain  the  information  from 
the  mate  on  shore;  but  no  human  voice  could  sur- 
vive a  passage  over  the  surf. 

Then  Jim's  patience  gave  out: 

••  Dang  it!  "  he  exclaimed;  *'  we  've  either  got  to 
go  back  and  ask  the  old  man  or  else  go  on  through. 
I  'm  blamed  if  I  don't  hate  to  go  back,  and  darned 
if  I  'm  goin'  to,  nuther.  What  do  yeh  say,  shall 
we  try  'er,  boys  ?  " 

M  Of  course"  we  all  agreed.  "  Don't  go  back, 
whatever  yeh  do.     We  can  fetch  it.     Go  ahead." 

"  Go  it  is,  then,"  announced  Jim. 

The  big  steering  oar  headed  the  boat  straight  in 
for  shore,  and  as  the  first  roller  started  in,  Jim  gave 
us  the  word  to  pull. 

For  a  single  moment  we  went  flying  in  toward 
the  beach,  then  the  stern  of  the  boat  suddenly  flew 
into  the  air;    I  saw  the  blade  of  the  steering  oar 


A  Capsize  and  Entertainment     353 

pointing  at  the  sun,  and  all  things  were  blotted  out 
from  me. 

I  learned  afterwards  that  the  boat  had  turned  a 
complete  somersault  in  the  surf,  pinning  me  down 
underneath  her,  where  I  must  have  quickly  drowned 
but  for  the  prompt  action  of  my  chum  and  some 
others  of  the  natives,  who  rushed  in  to  my  rescue. 
The  others  of  the  crew  were  also  in  great  danger 
from  the  undertow,  from  which  they  were  dragged 
by  the  natives,  but  none  of  them  were  hurt. 

My  recollections  of  the  succeeding  minutes,  after 
I  opened  my  eyes  to  find  myself  on  the  dry  beach, 
surrounded  by  my  shipmates,  are  necessarily  vague. 
I  must  have  been  stunned  by  some  blow  upon  the 
head,  and  it  was  something  like  half  an  hour  before 
I  was  able  to  stand  up  and  walk  into  the  town  with 
my  chum  and  several  of  the  boys  who  had  remained 
by  me.  Then,  by  the  time  we  reached  my  chum's 
hut,  my  bruises  were  so  sore  that  I  was  glad  to 
throw  myself  on  the  ground  in  the  shade  of  some 
huge  palm  leaves  and  lie  there. 

**  I  believe  I  '11  rest  here  a  spell,"  I  announced  to 
the  boys  who  had  accompanied  us,  and  they  left  me 
with  my  chum. 

A  moment  later  a  tall,  graceful,  but  ebony-colored 
girl  of  perhaps  fourteen  years,  came  rather  bashfully 
to  us  from  the  hut.     Her  father  spoke  to  her,  and 

in  a  second  she  was  nimbly  climbing  a  cocoanut  tree 

23 


354  On  Board  a  Whaler 

near  us  by  means  of  a  series  of  wooden  pegs  driven 
into  its  sides. 

This  town  was  a  collection  of  slightly  more  preten- 
tious huts  than  those  we  saw  at  the  first  island  we 
touched  upon  off  the  coast  of  Senegambia,  and  must 
have  contained  several  hundred  inhabitants.  As  is 
usual  in  towns,  although  the  sun  was  still  high  and 
hot,  the  people  were  constantly  going  and  coming 
around  us  as  we  lay,  dividing  my  attention  rather 
evenly  between  the  girl,  the  green-husked  cocoa- 
nuts,  and  themselves. 

The  natives  were  woolly-headed,  thick-lipped, 
and  shaded  in  color  from  bright  yellow  to  coal 
black.  The  prevailing  hue  was  mahogany  brown, 
and  there  was  a  tendency  to  a  thinness  of  shank 
that  detracted  somewhat  from  their  otherwise  well- 
developed  appearance.  In  temper  they  showed 
charmingly  amiable  and  contented  dispositions, 
such  as  will  scarcely  be  much  improved  by  the 
advent  of  our  more  selfish  civilization. 

The  passion  for  personal  adornment  was  every- 
where prevalent  in  a  monstrously  exaggerated 
style.  One  woman,  whose  Creator  had  given  her  a 
fine  form,  dimpled  cheeks,  rounded  limbs,  laughing 
eyes,  and  coquettish  manners,  would  display  a  set 
of  perfect  teeth  and  a  dust-besmirched  tongue 
through  an  enormous  bone  ring  set  into  the  upper 
lip.  Another  would  pass  by  wearing  huge  rings  sus- 


A  Capsize  and  Entertainment     355 

pended  from  from  the  tip  of  the  nose,  or  set  into 
the  under  lip,  while  not  a  few  wore  them,  not  sus- 
pended from,  but  set  into  the  lobes  of  the  ears.  At 
an  expense  of  lingering  suffering  and  pain  too  fright- 
ful to  think  about,  nearly  every  woman  I  saw  over 
eighteen  years  of  age  had  in  some  such  way  man- 
aged to  make  herself  irredeemably  hideous  to  look 
upon.  It  must  have  required  years,  every  minute 
of  them  spent  in  discomfort,  not  to  say  agony,  to 
have  accomplished  those  terrible  distortions  of 
heaven-bestowed  beauty. 

It  was  strange  and  foolish  but  not  without  par- 
allel among  more  civilized  people.  Look  at  the 
ring-burdened  ears,  the  steel-bound  waists,  the 
leather-tied  toes,  the  dozens  of  torturing  devices  sur- 
rounding us  at  every  hand  that  men  and  women  may 
follow  the  fashions!  and  then  say  how  far  we  have 
advanced  in  these  things  beyond  the  savage  we  do 
not  fear-  to  despise.  In  what  essential  do  the  prac- 
tices of  the  barbarian  differ  from  those  of  our 
boasted  civilization  in  this  respect,  other  than  in 
degree  ?  When  will  we  cease  our  nonsensical  striv- 
ings to  better  the  handiwork  of  the  Almighty ! 

At  last  my  chum's  daughter  descended  from  the 
tree  and  brought  us  two  green  nuts  which  she  had 
thrown  down,  and  seated  herself  on  the  ground 
with  us. 

A  few  cents  will  purchase  as  good  a  cocoanut  in 


356  On  Board  a  Whaler 

almost  any  city  of  the  United  States  to-day,  but  no 
wealth  can  buy  such  delight  as  I  felt  in  drinking  the 
milk  from  the  first  of  those  cocoanuts  on  that 
island.  The  girl  was  obliged  to  ascend  the  tree  a 
second  time  before  my  thirst  was  satisfied,  and 
then,  after  my  stomach  had  been  further  filled  with 
bananas,  I  fell  asleep  to  dream  of  more  cocoanut 
milk,  until  aroused  by  Frank  at  dusk: 

"  Come,  come,  come,  wake  up,  ol'  fel' — come  on. 
They  're  all  of  'em  down  to  the  boat  ready  to  go 
aboard.  Come  mighty  nigh  goin'  off  an'  leavin' 
yeh  here  ashore." 

"  Well,  I  wish  you  had,"  I  yawned.  "  I 
would  n't  have  cared  much." 

"  No — s'pose  yeh  would  n't  mind  it  a  bit  now, 
would  yeh!  Here  's  the  mate  chuck  full — fuller  'n 
a  tick,  by  ginger.  So  's  the  rest  of  us,  I  guess. 
S'pose  you  can  walk  ?  Fact  is  I  hain't  none  too 
blame  stiddy,  myself,  ol'  fel' — tellin'  the  truth — the 
hull  dummed  truth,  yeh  know.  Had  to  take  some, 
or  git  licked.  Takin'  some  was  better  'n  gitting 
walloped,  now — now  wa'  n't  it?  Eh  ?  Wa'  n't  it?  So 
I  took  some  more,  jest  to  wash  that  down,  yeh 
see."  He  laughed  in  a  silly,  half-shamed  way  that 
proved  his  condition  beyond  doubt  and  stooped  to 
assist  me  to  my  feet. 

Not  wishing  to  anger  him  by  seeming  more  sober 
than  he  was,  I  called  out : 


A  Capsize  and  Entertainment     357 

"Say,  Chummy  —  les-les  have  nuther  drink, 
Chummy." 

The  girl  who  was  still  there  must  have  under- 
stood the  word  "  drink  "  as  used  among  sailors,  for, 
instead  of  bringing  us  a  cocoanut  as  I  had  expected 
her  to  do,  she  brought  us  a  gourd  filled  to  the  brim 
with  fermented  sap  and  offered  it  to  me. 

Frank  instantly  snatched  the  gourd  from  her  hand 
and  drained  its  contents  before  turning  to  me: 

"Not  much — not  much  yeh  don't  come  none  o' 
that  on  me,  my  boy.  Not  much,  yeh  don't,  Tom. 
You — you  've  got  more  'n  yeh  can  carry  aboard  of 
yeh  now,  and  yeh  hain't  goin'  to  git  no  more  'f  I 
c'n  help  it — not  a  blamed  drop  more.  'T  won't  do, 
Tom — 't  won't  do  at  all,  I  tell  yeh." 

Saying  this,  he  returned  the  gourd  to  the  grin- 
ning girl,  and  after  tickling  her  under  the  chin  in  a 
manner  that  seemed  to  please  her  remarkably  well, 
he  again  resumed  his  lecture  to  me. 

M  Tom,  you  're  full.  You  know  you  're  full. 
You  're  fuller  'n  /be,  Tom.  Tha-thash  whash  she 
matter,  y'r  full,  Tom.  Full  hain't  no  name  forsh — 
you  're — you  're  jes'  sloppin'  over,  y'r  so — y'r  jesh- 
sloppin'  full,  Tom,  and  I  '11  never  gish  —  never 
gishshe  down  to  the  boat  —  never  gishshe  t'  that 
boat,  Tom,  in  the  blasted  worl',  Tom — never  'n  the 
wide  worl',  Tom — I  never  will,  if  yeh  tech — if  yeh 
jest  tesh — tesh  nuther  dog  goned-drop." 


358  On  Board  a  Whaler 

Then  he  seized  me  by  the  arm  and  dragged  me 
toward  the  beach  on  a  staggering  run : 

"  If  yeh  can't  walk — lean — lean  agin  me^  he  con- 
tinued as  we  ran.  "  Lean  up  agin  me,  Tom,"  he 
repeated  over  and  over.  "  Lean  agin  me.  We 
got  to  gitthere — weesh  mushgitthere,  o'  the  blamed 
fool  '11 — we  mush — mush  git — git — g' " 

Here  Frank  fell  flat,  and  I  carried  him  the  rest  of 
the  way  down  to  the  boat,  arriving  there  just  as  the 
natives  were  about  to  launch  the  last  of  the  crew 
through  the  surf.  In  the  condition  of  our  men  it 
would  have  been  extremely  hazardous  to  have  at- 
tempted to  make  our  way  unaided  past  the  rollers, 
but  the  islanders  took  the  matter  in  hand  and 
helped  us  out,  after  which  we  made  our  way  to 
the  brig. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII 

A   RELIGIOUS   CEREMONY 

THE  next  day  the  captain  and  Mr.  Brown  took 
the  members  of  the  other  watch  ashore  for  a 
day  of  liberty,  and  we  remained  on  board  to  break 
out  some  water  casks  and  dispose  of  what  was  left 
of  the  blackfish  meat.  The  flesh  was  already  putrid, 
but  that  fact  did  not  deter  the  natives  from  trading 
fruit  for  it. 

That  evening,  as  our  watch  had  done  the  night 
before,  the  captain  and  his  men  returned  to  the  brig 
drunk,  and  their  maudlin  songs  rent  the  air  until 
near  morning. 

This  custom  of  sailors  to  become  intoxicated  while 
on  shore  is  by  no  means  praiseworthy ;  but  in  pass- 
ing judgment  upon  the  men  certain  mitigating 
facts  may  well  be  considered. 

To  illustrate  this,  look  at  the  situation  of  our  crew 
at  the  time  we  visited  that  island.  Not  one  of  us 
had  tasted  a  cool  or  even  palatable  drink  of  any 
kind  for  more  than  six  months.     Daily,  during  all 

359 


360  On  Board  a  Whaleij 

that  time,  we  had  held  our  noses  and  gulped  down 
water  so  warm  and  so  filthy  that  it  might  have 
gagged  a  dog.  Then  a  cool  draught,  fragrant  to 
smell,  delicious  to  taste,  clear  and  delightful  to  look 
upon,  was  offered  before  us,  and  we  were  urged  to 
drink.  The  liquor  had  little  of  the  sharp  pungency 
or  sting  of  civilized  whiskey.  It  was  most  agreeable 
to  the  palate,  only  mildly  intoxicating,  and  when 
the  men  once  commenced  to  drink  it  the  temptation 
to  satisfy  their  thirsts  became  irresistible.  To  avoid 
its  seductive  influence,  total  abstinence  was  abso- 
lutely necessary,  and  exercise  of  the  power  of  self- 
denial  under  the  circumstances  such  as  is  seldom 
practised  by  those  who  most  condemn  the  sailor  for 
his  drunkenness. 

The  habit  is  one  not  likely  to  be  abandoned  so 
long  as  its  principal  cause  remains  to  foster  it. 
Until  suitable  drink  is  provided  for  the  men  on  ship- 
board there  can  be  little  hope  of  any  reform  in  this 
direction  among  them. 

The  following  morning  our  watch  again  landed — 
this  time  without  accident. 

To  our  surprise  we  found  nobody  on  the  beach  to 
meet  us.  On  both  of  the  preceding  days  the  shore 
had  been  lined  with  people  eager  to  assist  us ;  now 
only  the  roar  of  the  surf  was  there  to  greet  us. 

*'  I  dunno — would  n't  wonder  if  they  'd  got  mad 
about  suthin'  o'  ruther.     Did  any  of  yeh  hear  about 


A  Religious  Ceremony  361 

any  row,  or  anything  to  stir  'em  up,  yisterday  ? 
Any  fight,  or  rumpus,  or  anything  ?  "  the  mate  in- 
quired. 

No  one  knew  of  any  cause  for  the  absence  of  our 
chums.  Then  the  sound  of  a  bell  slowly  tolling 
reached  us  from  the  town. 

"  Mebbe  somebuddy  's  dead,  or  suthin'.  S'pose 
we  go  on  up,"  suggested  Frank. 

So  we  put  aside  our  suspicions  and  walked  up  into 
the  town. 

The  only  building  in  the  town  not  built  of  poles 
was  one  made  of  rough  boards  fastened  upon  a  rude 
frame  of  timber,  representing  the  wealth  and  power 
of  the  Roman  Church.  This  structure  stood  near 
the  centre  of  the  village  and  its  character  was  pro- 
claimed by  a  large  wooden  cross  surmounting  a 
belfry  in  which  was  hung  a  small  brass  bell,  no 
doubt  contributed  by  some  passing  ship.  It  was 
the  solemn  tones  of  this  little  bell  that  had  allayed 
our  alarm. 

As  we  arrived  at  this  church  we  found  the  entire 
population  of  the  island  assembled,  the  hum  of  their 
suppressed  voices  reminding  us  of  a  swarm  of  bees. 

We  soon  saw  our  interpreter  in  the  outskirts  of 
the  crowd,  and  Mr.  Bowman  asked  of  him : 

"  What  's  up,  Mr.  President  ?  Anything  the 
matter  here  ?  " 

**  Yessuh,  yessuh,  sure  'nough  there  is,  suh.    Las' 


362  On  Board  a  Whaler 

night  a  man  was  bit  wiff  a  snake,  suh — a  p'ison 
snake,  suh,  an'  he  's  daid,  suh — he  's  daid,  suh," 
replied  Mr.  Jefferson.  Then  edging  farther  from 
the  crowd,  he  continued:  "  Youse  don'  need  to  be 
scart,  suh.  Youse  don'  need  to  be  scart  about  de 
snakes,  suh,  cayse  de  won't  no  mo'  come  here  while 
youse  is  here,  suh.  De  pries',  he  gwine  charm  de 
groun',  suh,  so  's  de  won'  no  mo'  come  'round 
yere  while  youse  here,  suh,  sure  'nough,  suh.  De 
won'  no  mo'  come  in  dis  yuh  town  'til  you  goes, 
suh." 

The  earnest  simplicity  of  the  man  left  no  doubt 
in  our  minds  of  his  sincere  belief  in  the  announced 
doctrine  of  the  church  and  of  its  power  to  control 
the  serpents  of  Annabon.  We  remembered  the  rid- 
dance of  Ireland  of  her  snakes,  and  watched  the 
succeeding  ceremonies  with  eager  curiosity,  Mr. 
Bowman  taking  care  to  instruct  us : 

"  Now,  boys,  don't  none  of  yeh  git  to  grinnin'  or 
cuttin'  up  here.  This  show  is  going  to  be  free,  but 
jest  remember  it  's  their  circus,  and  they  believe  in 
it.  If  ye  want  to  keep  y'r  heads  whole,  mind  that 
and  behave  yourselves.  'T  won't  be  safe  for  yeh  to 
make  too  much  fun  of  'em  right  now." 

At  last  the  bell  ceased  its  doleful  clang,  and  a 
canopy  appeared  in  the  church  doorway,  borne 
aloft  by  poles  at  its  four  corners  carried  by  boys. 
Under  the  canopy  marched   the  priest,  bearing  a 


A  Religious  Ceremony  36 


crucifix  held  high  in  front  of  him,  and  dressed  in 
black  robes. 

As  the  canopy  and  priest  advanced,  the  people 
dropped  behind  him  in  couples,  and  presently  the 
entire  population  of  men,  women,  and  children  had 
formed  in  procession,  the  column  passing  com- 
pletely around  the  church  before  it  was  ready  to 
proceed.  Then  it  started  for  the  spot  where  the 
deceased  had  met  his  fate. 

After  the  procession  was  fairly  under  way  the 
priest  commenced  singing  a  low  chant,  in  which  the 
congregation  behind  him  soon  joined.  It  may  or 
may  not  have  been  some  hymn  or  chant  prescribed 
for  such  occasions  by  the  Roman  Church,  none  of 
us  knew  or  learned.  In  any  event,  its  melody  was 
as  charming  as  its  time  was  bad.  I  have  many 
times  since  then  heard  negro  voices  blending  in 
song,  but  never  such  harmony  of  hundreds  of  tones 
as  rose  from  those  songsters.  We  could  not  under- 
stand the  words,  and  there  was  little  of  apparent 
concert ;  but  as  a  whole  it  was  marvellously  delight- 
ful music  to  our  uncultivated  ears. 

As  the  last  end  of  the  procession  was  about  to 
pass  us  we  joined  it  in  couples  and  marched  along 
with  it. 

The  unlucky  man  had  been  bitten  in  a  small  copse 
of  bushes  near  his  hut  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town, 
and  we  had  not  far  to  go.     As  the  column  reached 


364  On  Board  a  Whaler 

the  copse  the  song  ceased,  the  procession  halted, 
and  the  priest  began  to  talk.  For  a  little  while  he 
held  forth  in  words  we  did  not  understand,  and  then 
the  entire  congregation  knelt  upon  the  ground. 

The  ceremony  was  now  becoming  too  varied  for 
novices  such  as  we  were,  and  we  prudently  stepped 
aside  to  watch  it. 

After  kneeling  a  moment  in  silence  the  procession 
rose  and  passed  in  a  circle  about  the  copse,  enclos- 
ing perhaps  half  an  acre  of  ground,  the  while  shriek- 
ing and  howling  in  a  manner  strangely  contrasting 
with  their  song  of  the  moment  before.  The  men  and 
women  who  had  but  a  few  minutes  earlier  seemed 
imbued  with  the  very  spirit  of  Christian  love  were 
in  a  twinkling  converted  into  a  mob  of  raging  devils, 
who  with  distorted  faces  screeched  and  bellowed 
and  roared  in  horrible  discord. 

"  Jingo,  but  hain't  they  gittin'  hot!  "  Frank 
whispered  to  me.  '*  I  would  n't  mind  bein'  out  o' 
this,  would  you  ?  " 

Then  followed  a  sudden  hush,  as  the  priest  began 
again  to  address  the  crowd.  For  several  minutes 
he  harangued  in  a  loud,  harsh  Voice  which  became 
louder  and  louder  as  he  went  on,  during  which  his 
auditors  preserved  complete  silence,  although  the 
tension  of  an  increasing  excitement  shone  from 
every  countenance,  until  he  ended  with  a  terrible 
shriek. 


A  Religious  Ceremony  365 

In  an  instant  after  that,  before  the  horrible  sound 
had  ceased  to  ring  out,  every  member  of  that  flock 
was  in  among  those  bushes,  tearing  them  from  the 
ground.  Two  minutes  later  not  a  twig  remained 
standing  of  the  entire  copse — every  bush  had  been 
jerked  away  to  its  roots. 

The  procession  was  then  again  formed  about  the 
open  space,  and  the  priest  advanced  alone  to  the 
centre  of  the  circle,  where  he  was  quickly  followed 
by  two  men  bearing  a  tub  of  water.  Then,  mum- 
bling as  he  went,  the  priest  followed  the  tub  as  it 
was  borne  about,  sprinkling  the  ground  in  all  direc- 
tions for  some  minutes,  and  the  last  ceremony  re- 
quired to  make  snakes  wary  of  the  vicinity  of  that 
town  had  been  performed. 

The  congregation  at  once  broke  up,  and  a  moment 
later  I  heard  the  voice  of  my  proprietor:  "  You  me 
chum,"  spoken  beside  me. 

The  heat  of  the  sun  was  becoming  intolerable, 
while  I  was  still  sore  from  the  bruises  incurred  in 
the  surf  at  the  first  landing,  and  during  the  next 
few  hours  I  was  very  glad  to  loll  about  in  the  shade 
of  my  chum's  palm  leaves,  drinking  cocoanut  milk 
and  feasting  upon  the  pineapples  and  bananas 
brought  to  me  by  his  daughter,  rather  than  follow 
the  other  boys  in  their  rambles  about  the  town. 
Then,  as  the  sun  went  lower  in  the  west,  still  ac- 
companied by  my  Chum  and  his   girl,  I  wandered 


366  On  Board  a  Whaler 

down  to  the  beach,  where  we  amused  ourselves 
until  near  night,  stretched  on  the  warm  sand  watch- 
ing the  surf  tumbling  in  along  the  beach,  and  look- 
ing for  shells,  crabs,  and  the  many  curious  forms  of 
life  everywhere  abounding  among  the  pebbles  where 
the  tide  had  gone  down.  It  was  a  novel  and  most 
agreeable  way  of  spending  the  time,  and  I  was 
heartily  sorry  when  the  day  was  gone  and  the  crew 
were  again  gathered  at  the  boats  ready  to  go  out  to 
the  brig. 

We  remained  at  the  island  a  week  after  that,  but 
after  the  first  few  hours  it  held  little  of  interest  for 
any  of  us. 

The  village  was  a  mere  huddle  of  shanties,  with- 
out streets,  order,  or  system,  and  its  inhabitants 
lived  in  squalor  upon  fruits,  roots,  and  fishes.  We 
were  told  by  Thomas  Jefferson  that  any  head  of  a 
family  who  cared  to  stake  it  out  was  entitled  to 
hold  the  exclusive  possession  of  a  small  piece  of 
land  for  any  one  year;  but  we  saw  no  instances  of 
the  exercise  of  that  privilege.  In  a  country  where 
every  vegetable  useful  to  the  people  sprang  up 
spontaneously  and  of  its  own  volition  grew  in 
rankest  profusion,  the  ease-loving  inhabitants  were 
not  likely  to  work  much  on  the  soil.  Food  was  to 
be  had  anywhere  for  its  pulling  or  picking;  clothes 
were  luxuries  that  need  not  be  earned ;  society  was 
plentiful   and  knew  no   classes.     There   was   little 


A  Religious  Ceremony  367 

government  and  less  law ;  yet,  despite  the  heat,  the 
poverty,  and  the  filth  of  the  town,  robust  health 
and  smiling  faces  met  us  at  every  turn.  It  was  a 
great  family  of  congenial  spirits  living  together  in 
peace  and  apparent  happiness ;  but,  having  distrib- 
uted all  our  old  clothes,  pins,  and  gewgaws  that  we 
were  able  to  muster,  filled  and  restowed  all  our  avail- 
able water  casks,  and  secured  a  fair  supply  of  veget- 
ables and  fruit,  without  any  feeling  of  regret  we 
sailed  away  from  the  island  upon  another  cruise  for 
whales. 


CHAPTER   XXXIV 

ODDS  AND   ENDS 

ALIGHT  breeze  took  us  out  of  sight  of  Anna- 
bon,  but  left  us  to  bake  and  stew  upon  the 
equator.  Days  followed  days,  and  stretched  into 
weeks,  bringing  us  nothing  but  the  same  blazing  sun, 
the  same  flickering  waves,  the  same  quivering  air, 
the  same  loggy  roll,  the  same  loitering,  the  same 
drudgery,  the  same  everything,  unsavory  and  ted- 
ious to  the  last  degree.  The  sea  was  glass  and  the 
atmosphere  a  furnace  in  which  we  lived,  swore,  and 
sweltered  with  no  present  hope  of  escape. 

Within  two  weeks  after  we  left  the  islands  the  last 
of  the  fruit  had  gone,  and  the  kid  came  to  us  with 
nothing  but  hardtack,  salt  junk,  and  yams.  The 
thirst  induced  by  the  briny  meat  was  satisfied  with 
bitter  coffee  or  slimy  water.  The  hardtack  was  now 
old,  tough,  and  not  seldom  wormy.  There  was  no 
butter  and  the  cook  made  us  no  more  biscuits.  Even 
duff  was  becoming  a  memory  and  the  peas  and 
beans  were  never  more  hailed  by  us.     In  short,  in 

368 


Odds  and  Ends  369 

the  forecastle  we  were  now  reduced  to  something 
far  worse  than  prison  fare  at  home. 

In  the  cabin  the  table  was  still  supplied  with 
canned  meats,  canned  peaches,  canned  tomatoes, 
canned  corn,  canned  green  beans,  canned  every- 
thing canned  in  those  days,  besides  fresh  biscuits, 
butter,  sweet  potatoes,  pies,  gingerbread,  cakes, 
puddings,  and  other  eatables,  while  Java  and 
Mocha,  tempered  with  canned  milk  and  sugar, 
completed  the  menu.  Thus  the  men  in  the  cabin 
did  feast,  while  the  men  in  the  forecastle  did 
not. 

This  condition,  found  upon  every  American  ves- 
sel of  that  day  that  had  been  long  at  sea,  was  one 
little  calculated  to  improve  the  morals  of  the  fore- 
castle, and  as  our  officers  came  contentedly  rilled 
from  their  cabin,  followed  by  the  odors  of  their  re- 
pasts, ideas  surged  through  our  brains  that  should 
never  find  valid  excuse  in  the  breasts  of  American 
seamen. 

We  in  the  forecastle  were  of  the  same  race  as  our 
officers,  and  at  home  were  accustomed  to  living  as 
well.  If  there  was  any  difference  between  the 
officers  and  the  foremast  hands  it  arose  from  want 
of  maturity  in  the  latter,  a  difference  that  should 
have  forbidden  the  distinction  in  diet  actually  made 
on  board.  If  severe  toil,  dangerous  feats,  or  drudgery 
were  to  be  imposed,  if  anything   entailing  tissue 


37°  On  Board  a  Whaler 

waste  was  to  be  done  or  endured,  the  foremast  hand 
was  made  to  bear  the  brunt. 

We  may  grant,  if  discipline  is  to  be  maintained, 
some  differences  between  the  officers  and  the  men 
must  be  acknowledged.  But  should  the  man  who 
does  the  least  to  waste  his  body  be  stuffed,  while 
the  man  who  does  the  most  to  waste  it  is  allowed  to 
starve,  merely  that  a  distinction  such  as  this  may 
be  preserved  ?  Is  this  place  the  proper  one  for 
marking  that  distinction  and  drawing  the  line  be- 
tween the  man  who  directs  and  the  man  who  obeys? 

The  American  sailor  is  brave  and  faithful  as  any 
hero.  Kind  of  temper,  loyal  to  duty,  ready  in  sac- 
rifice, he  deserves  to  be  treated  as  a  man.  If  it  be 
necessary  to  subject  him  to  some  tyranny  to  keep 
him  within  disciplinary  bounds,  still  do  him  justice. 
Never  in  all  history  has  he  proven  recreant  to  duty; 
never  has  he  left  a  ship  while  any  other  mortal  re- 
mained; never  has  he  shirked  or  skulked  when  his 
country  called;  ever  has  he  been  patient  and  endur- 
ing like  the  ox.  No  man  merits  more  from  his  fel- 
lows than  does  this  man  who  has  been  degraded 
beneath  the  brutes  on  our  ships,  fed  upon  food  a 
pig  would  scorn,  and  exposed  to  tyranny  against 
which  a  dog  would  rebel. 

Many  of  them  are  drunken  sots,  wholly  unfit  for 
decent  society,  but  they  are  so  because  of  the  treat- 
ment accorded  them.     Treated  as  brutes,  they  have 


Odds  and  Ends  371 

become  brutes;  deprived  of  better,  they  have  ac- 
cepted bad  society;  possessed  of  all  the  passions 
and  weaknesses  of  mankind,  dumped  and  left  in  the 
slums  of  the  world,  they  have  often  slipped  and 
fallen.  They  are  what  they  are  because  of  thou- 
sands of  circumstances  beyond  control;  but  alto- 
gether those  circumstances  afford  no  excuse  for 
feeding  these  sailors  as  hogs.  They  make  it  only 
the  more  wonderful  that  these  men  have  remained 
the  firmest  in  friendship,  the  bravest  in  danger,  the 
truest  in  duty,  of  all  the  race. 

The  condition  of  which  I  complain  was  not 
peculiar  to  our  brig.  Ours  was  not  a  condition  that 
was  extreme  of  its  kind.  The  brig  was  furnished 
with  more  and  better  provisions  for  her  men,  and 
her  officers  were  more  humane  and  considerate  in 
their  treatment  of  the  men  than  was  often  the  case 
upon  such  ships.  The  fault  lay  in  a  custom  which 
has  survived  the  barbaric  ages  and  is  permitted,  if 
not  encouraged,  by  maritime  laws  enforced  in  our 
courts.  In  modern  times  something  —  far  from 
enough — has  been  done  toward  bettering  such  con- 
ditions. But  if  much  more  radical  reforms  were  to 
be  instituted  and  enforced,  no  loss  would  result  to 
the  nation  or  even  to  the  owners  of  ships.  No 
mutiny  will  ever  occur  and  no  ship  will  ever  be  scut- 
tled by  a  properly  fed  American  crew. 

At  last  a  fair  breeze  took  us  out  of  the  doldrums 


372  On  Board  a  Whaler 

far  down  into  the  south  Atlantic.  There  we 
scoured  the  ocean  far  and  wide,  but  found  not  so 
much  as  a  blackfish  to  stir  our  blood. 

After  some  weeks  of  this  eventless  cruising  we  ran 
into  one  of  the  great  fields  of  vegetation  sometimes 
met  floating  on  the  surface  of  the  ocean.  It  con- 
sisted of  dense  masses  of  weeds  in  detached  patches 
varying  in  size  from  a  few  square  yards  to  many 
acres,  the  roots,  branches,  and  flowers  of  which 
were  so  intertwined,  deep,  and  compact,  as  to  some- 
times offer  serious  obstruction  to  the  passage  of  the 
brig  through  it. 

"  That  's  queer  stuff,"  Frank  remarked  in  my 
hearing  to  Mr.  Bowman  one  day. 

"  Ye-ah.  'T  is  sort  of  funny  how  that  stuff 
grows,  without  ever  techin'  land.  It  jest  has  its 
roots  there  in  the  water  and  grows  and  blooms  and 
goes  to  seed  jest  like  any  other  weed.  Funny  stuff, 
hain't  it!  We  're  likely  to  run  acrost  a  right  whale 
amongst  it,  somewheres.  This  is  what  they  live  on. 
Yeh  '11  see  'em  scoopin'  of  it  up  by  the  boat  load. 
We  don't  often  strike  this  stuff  right  where  we  be 
now — we  did  n't  expect  to  git  into  it  here  at  all. 
There  's  a  good  deal  of  it  farther  south  and  a  lot  of 
it  farther  north;  but  yeh  hardly  ever  find  it  'round 
here.  'T  ain't  likely  we  '11  find  this  patch  very  big, 
but  wherever  yeh  strike  it,  yeh  can  look  out  for 
right  whales." 


Odds  and  Ends  373 

At  that  moment  the  vessel  went  gliding  across 
what  looked  like  a  roadway  among  the  weeds. 
"  There — one  of  'em  's  been  through  here,"  the 
mate  continued.  "  Do  yeh  see  that  track  ?  That  's 
where  he  went. " 

No  movement  was  made  to  change  the  course  of 
the  brig,  and  presently  Frank,  in  evident  surprise, 
asked : 

M  Hain't  yeh  goin'  to  foller  up  that  track,  sir  ?  I 
should  think  we  'd  be  goin'  in  there  after  'im." 

"  No.  No,  my  lad,  that  hain't  the  way  to  find 
them  fellers.  You  don't  want  to  look  where  they  've 
been,  'cause  that  ain't  where  they  be.  Yeh  see, 
there  won't  no  more  of  'em  be  goin'  through  that 
road  'til  it  closes  up.  There  hain't  nothin'  in  it  for 
'em.  They  feed  on  the  seaweed,  jest  as  cattle  does 
ashore  on  grass,  and  they  hain't  fools  enough  to  go 
in  another  whale's  tracks  to  git  it,  nuther.  If  yeh 
ever  want  to  ketch  right  whales,  don't  never  fool 
yourself  no  sech  way  as  that." 

For  some  days  after  that  we  continued  butting 
our  way  through  the  tangle  of  seaweeds,  but  with- 
out effecting  any  captures. 

We  saw  one  right  whale,  but  did  not  get  him. 
He  poked  his  head  up  through  the  weeds  close  by  the 
brig  one  day  and  blew,  but  probably  discovered  the 
vessel,  for  he  immediately  sank  without  elevating 
his  fluke.     We  had  only  a  glimpse  of  him  before 


374  On  Board  a  Whaler 

he  had  gone  from  sight.  He  seemed  to  be  about 
the  size  of  an  ordinary  cow  sperm  whale. 

"  That  feller  would  have  made  us  about  a  hund'rd 
barrels,"  the  captain  mourned. 

The  blubber  of  the  right  whale  is  usually  thicker 
and  more  oily  than  that  of  his  sperm  brother,  and 
he  carried  a  mass  of  bone  known  as  '*  baleen  "  in 
his  mouth,  which  adds  considerably  to  his  value; 
but  since  we  did  not  capture  one  of  them,  I  shall 
not  attempt  their  description  further  here. 

"  Them  fellers  put  up  a  lively  fight  with  their 
tails,"  Jack  told  us  in  the  forecastle.  "  We  got 
two  last  v'yage,  and  yeh  'd  jest  better  believe  we 
worked  to  git  'em,  too.  Them  fellers  jest  stood 
straight  up  on  their  heads  in  the  water  and  flopped 
their  darned  flukes  over,  fust  to  one  side  and  then 
to  the  t'other,  helletelarrup,  jest  kerwallupin'  'round 
there,  every  which  way  for  Sundays.  By  Jiminy! 
but  they  did  lather  the  water  for  us  in  great  shape. 
If  them  darned  fools  had  only  known  enough  to  've 
chased  us  up,  they  'd  have  made  it  putty  conside'ble 
warm  for  us  now,  I  tell  yeh.  As  't  was,  't  wa'  n't 
no  funny  job  gittin'  nigh  'nough  to  kill  'em — 't  was 
mighty  ticklish  bisniss,  I  tell  yeh." 

Anxious  to  verify  Jack's  account  of  this  whale, 
we  did  our  duty  at  the  masthead  with  unusual  care, 
but  without  success ;  and  a  day  or  so  later  the  brig 
sailed  out  from  among  the  weeds  into  an  open  sea. 


CHAPTER    XXXV 

THE   END   OF   MY   VOYAGE 

ONLY  three  of  the  eighteen  months  for  which 
I  had  shipped  on  the  brig  remained,  and  I 
was  longing  for  release  from  what  had  become  thral- 
dom to  me.  We  were  somewhere  south  and  a  little 
east  of  the  island  of  St.  Helena,  and,  if  we  were  to 
get  home  within  the  time  limited  for  the  voyage,  it 
was  time  to  head  toward  the  north.  So  when  the 
order  came  which  turned  the  prow  of  the  brig  in  a 
northwesterly  course,  it  set  my  heart  to  throbbing  in 
a  tumult  of  elation;  but  we  had  scarcely  trimmed 
our  sails  for  the  new  tack  before  we  were  summoned 
aft  and  addressed  by  the  captain: 

"  Boys,  we  have  n't  had  much  luck  this  season, 
the  brig  ain't  full,  and  we  hain't  ready  to  go  home 
yit.  Fact  is,  we  've  concluded  to  go  'round  Cape 
Good  Hope  and  cruise  a  spell  in  the  Injun  Ocean, 
and  fill  'er  plum  full.  We  thought  it  would  be  best 
to  tell  yeh  now,  sost  there  would  n't  be  no  com- 

375 


376  On  Board  a  Whaler 

plaints  after  we  leave  next  port.  We  're  goin'  in 
to  St.  Helena  fust  and  git  a  new  outfit  and  land 
some  of  our  ile.  I  mean  to  give  yeh  a  good  time 
while  we  're  in  there — prob'bly  we  '11  give  yeh  three 
four  days  liberty — mebbe  more.  Then,  on  the  way 
'round,  we  '11  stop  in  at  Cape  Town  and  give  yeh 
all  a  nuther  liberty —so,  besides  makin'  some  money 
to  spend  when  yeh  git  home,  yeh  '11  have  a  putty 
good  time  makin'  of  it.  Hope  you  '11  all  be  willin' 
to  go  on  'round  in  the  brig.  It  '11  make  a  leetle 
longer  v'yage  than  yeh  shipped  for,  but  that  don't 
make  no  diff'runce,  so  long  's  we  're  at  it.  We  've 
done  putty  toler'ble  fair,  as  't  is,  but  we  don't  want 
to  go  home  without  fillin'  up,  and  we  can  run  'er 
over  afore  we  've  been  'round  there  a  month.  The 
whales  seem  to  be  putty  much  all  druv  out  this  side  ; 
but  there  's  plenty  of  'em  'round  there,  and  all 
we  've  got  to  do  is  to  go  and  git  'em." 

"  If  you  go  into  the  Indian  Ocean  how 
much  longer  do  you  expect  to  be  out,  sir  ?  "  I 
inquired. 

"  Of  course,  we  '11  have  to  be  gone  some  longer — 
mebbe  a  year,  and  mebbe  not  so  long.  Yeh  can't 
hardly  tell.  But  it  '11  be  a  mighty  good  trip  for 
yeh,  though.  Yeh  '11  get  to  see  a  whole  lot  of  things 
yeh  've  never  seen  afore,  and  yeh  '11  like  it  better 
'round  there  than  here.  There  's  more  places  to 
stop  at — more  places  where  we  can  git  fruit   and 


The  End  of  my  Voyage  377 

have  fun.    The  cruises  '11  be  shorter,  and  the  landin's 
won't  be  so  fur  apart." 

As  if  waiting  for  further  inquiries,  the  captain 
paused  for  a  moment,  and  then  added : 

"  We  thought  we  'd  better  tell  yeh,  boys,  sost 
there  would  n't  be  no  misunderstandin'  'mongst 
yeh.     We  're  goin'  'round  there,  anyhow." 

The  cure  for  whaling  fever  had  been  effective,  and 
I  was  instantly  resolved  not  to  go  "  'round  there." 
I  knew  nothing  of  my  legal  rights  in  the  premises, 
or,  having  such  rights  that  were  in  danger  of  in- 
fringement, how  to  enforce  them.  It  was  plain  to 
me  that  the  captain  had  no  moral  excuse  for  taking 
me  out  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  on  a  voyage  so  greatly 
in  excess  of  the  one  for  which  I  had  shipped  as  he 
now  proposed.  If  the  legal  and  the  moral  right 
were  not  in  this  instance  the  same,  then  it  was  clear 
to  me  that  it  would  be  morally  right  for  me  to 
desert  the  vessel,  and  I  became  determined  to  do  so 
if  I  could  not  otherwise  obtain  a  discharge. 

The  fresh  trade  winds  of  that  region  bore  us 
rapidly  along,  and  in  a  few  days  the  little  island 
stood  looming  in  the  distance  before  us. 

The  island  rises  abruptly  several  hundred  feet  out 
of  the  ocean,  is  almost  circular  in  form,  and  hardly  ten 
miles  in  breadth.  It  looked  like  some  enormous  fort- 
ress, its  walls  coming  perpendicularly  up  from  the  sea. 

**  They  say  that  when  God  Almighty  got  through 


378  On  Board  a  Whaler 

makin'  the  world  He  jest  dumped  what  rocks  He 
had  left  down  here,  and  let  'er  go,"  Mr.  Bowman 
told  us  as  we  sailed  toward  it. 

With  its  steep  bluffs  unrelieved  by  any  green 
thing,  until  we  came  opposite  Jamestown,  one  of 
its  two  landing-places,  the  island  did  look  like  a 
stone  pile.  Here  nature  had  at  some  time  cut  a 
slice  of  this  cheese,  and  in  the  niche  so  made  a  city 
of  some  three  thousand  or  more  people  now  lay, 
luxuriantly  dressed  in  green  and  white.  A  shelf 
formed  from  the  debris  of  this  singular  break  ex- 
tended out  for  some  distance  in  front  of  the  town, 
affording  anchorage  for  a  considerable  fleet.  From 
the  edge  of  the  water  the  land  sloped  gently  back, 
narrowing  as  it  went,  until  something  like  two  miles 
inland,  and  at  about  a  fourth  of  the  height  of  the 
surrounding  bluffs,  the  bottom  of  the  slice  ended  in 
a  point.  It  was  in  this  triangular  space,  hedged  in 
on  the  land  side  by  two  almost  perpendicular  cliffs, 
that  the  city  had  been  built,  access  to  the  rest  of 
the  island  being  obtained  by  means  of  a  system  of 
zigzag  roaMs  cut  out  of  the  solid  rock  on  the  left- 
hand  side  looking  in  from  the  sea. 

So  far  as  I  saw,  except  gun-carriages,  donkeys, 
and  a  few  horses  owned  by  English  officers,  the 
island  could  boast  of  no  conveyance.  If  there  were 
any  other  vehicles  for  carrying  man  or  goods,  they 
were  kept  well  out  of  sight. 


The  End  of  my  Voyage  379 

The  half  or  three  fourths  of  a  mile  immediately 
in  front  of  Jamestown  and  a  still  narrower  strip  of 
land  on  the  other  side  of  the  island  were  the  only- 
spots  on  the  coast  anywhere  from  which  a  man 
could  not  have  thrown  a  stone  into  blue  water. 
On  most  seacoasts,  for  miles  away  from  shore  the 
water  is  shallow  and  of  a  greenish  color ;  but  here 
the  clear  crystal  blue  water  everywhere  seen  in  mid- 
ocean  proved  the  unfathomable  depth  of  the  sea 
close  to  the  shore  line. 

At  that  time  St.  Helena  was  in  the  direct  route 
of  all  ships  bound  from  India  to  either  Europe  or  the 
United  States,  and  nearly  every  ship  on  coming 
north  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  stopped  there 
for  water  or  supplies.  But  that  year  the  Suez  Canal 
was  opened  to  the  ships  of  the  world,  and  must  have 
diverted  the  most  of  the  commerce  from  the  island, 
yet  Jamestown  must  always  remain  an  important 
ocean  depot. 

In  the  seven  weeks  that  I  stayed  on  the  island 
the  flag  of  almost  every  nation  was  unfurled  in  its 
harbor,  and  ships  came  and  went  away  every  day. 
To  the  right  of  the  harbor,  on  the  heights  overlook- 
ing the  approaches  to  it,  great  guns  were  planted, 
and  on  the  left,  from  portholes  cut  out  of  the  solid 
cliff,  still  other  cannon  frowned,  while  the  British  flag 
waving  from  its  flagstaff  proclaimed  the  nation  thus 
careful  to  protect  its  possessions  in  this  distant  sea. 


380  On  Board  a  Whaler 

As  we  sailed  into  the  little  harbor  in  front  of  the 
town,  a  great  ship  was  passing  out  carrying  at  her 
peak  the  Stars  and  Stripes.  For  many  months  we 
had  not  seen  the  old  flag,  and  the  wild  cheering  of 
our  crew,  together  with  the  hearty  response  from 
the  decks  of  the  ship  as  we  flung  our  own  flag  to 
the  breeze,  attested  the  love  of  country  so  deeply 
imbedded  in  the  heart  of  every  sailor. 

It  was  dusk  before  we  were  finally  settled  and 
anchored  in  the  spot  assigned  to  us  by  the  authori- 
ties in  the  harbor. 

The  next  morning,  the  moment  the  captain  made 
his  appearance  on  the  quarter-deck,  dressed  in  his 
best  suit  and  prepared  for  a  trip  on  shore,  filled  with 
but  one  idea,  I  went  to  him  and  at  once  plunged 
into  my  subject : 

44  Captain,  I  have  come  to  you  for  my  discharge." 
He    seemed    embarrassed    for   the    instant,    but 
quickly  recovered  and  stood  for  half  a  minute  look- 
ing steadily  at  me  before  he  replied : 
"  Wa-al — wa-a]\     Your  discharge!  " 
44  Yes,  sir.     I  think  I  am  entitled  to  it." 
44  D— — n  it  all!     I  'd  jest  like  to  know  what  you 
want   your   discharge    for.       Here   you    've   been 
treated  better  'n  any  boy  I  ever  see  on  a  ship  the 
hull  tarnal  v'yage,  and  now  yeh  come  here  talkin' 
like  this.     Hain't  yeh  satisfied  with  the  way  yeh  've 
been  treated  aboard  here  ?  " 


The  End  of  my  Voyage  381 

He  could  have  said  nothing  to  me  better  calcu- 
lated to  break  my  determination  to  leave  the  brig 
than  this;  but  my  mind  was  immovably  fixed  in  its 
purpose.  "  That  is  n't  it,  sir.  I  would  be  a  fool 
not  to  understand  and  appreciate  your  kindness  to 
me.  I  would  rather  sail  with  you  than  with  any- 
body I  know  of,  and  if  I  meant  to  keep  on  goin'  to 
sea  I  would  n't  say  a  word.  But  I  am  not,  and 
want  to  get  home." 

"  Fiddlesticks,  Tom  !  "  he  exclaimed,  in  a  slightly 
mollified  tone.  "  You  're  homesick.  That  's  all 
the  matter  with  yeh — you  're  homesick.  You  saw 
that  ship  goin'  out  of  here  last  night  and  she  made 
yeh  think  of  the  folks,  that  's  all.  I  thought  of  'em 
myself  for  the  minute,  and  would  have  been  blamed 
well  glad  to  've  gone  home  myself.  That  's  all  that 
ails  you — you  're  a  mite  homesick,  but  you  '11  git 
right  over  it.  Jest  as  soon  's  you  've  had  a  run 
ashore  here,  you  '11  be  all  right,  and  feel  diff'runt 
about  it." 

I  shook  my  head  at  this,  and  he  went  on : 

"  Why,  hang  it  all,  boy,  I  'd  made  up  my  mind 
to  make  a  &?#/-steerer  of  yeh  afore  we  git  home — if 
there  was  a  chance  open,  I  'd  do  it  to-day.  Don't 
git  no  sech  nonsense  into  y'r  head  as  to  want  your 
discharge,  but  git  along  forrard  and  let  's  hear  no 
more  about  it." 

Then,  as  if  the  matter  was  finished,  he  resumed 


382  On  Board  a  Whaler 

his  customary  beat  across  the  deck,  until  he  found 
me  still  standing  there.  He  frowned  and  said 
sharply : 

"  What  the  blazes — hain't  you  gone  yit!  M 

"  No,  sir.  If  you  are  not  going  home  from  here 
I  want  my  discharge.  My  mind  is  made  up,  sir," 
I  said. 

My  manner  was  too  abrupt  and  the  announce- 
ment of  my  purpose  too  bold  for  successful  diplo- 
macy with  the  captain.     He  was  only  irritated  by  it. 

"  So,  so — that  's  where  yeh  be,  is  it!  You  've 
made  up  your  mind,  have  yeh  ?  Wa-al,  wa-al,  now! 
Yeh  've  made  up  your  mind  to  leave,  have  yeh  ? 
Wa-al,  now,  I  guess  we  '11  have  suthin'  to  say 
about  that.  I  want  yeh  to  understand  that  /  've 
jest  made  up  my  mind  about  your  leavin',  too.  Now 
you  quit  this  foolishness  short  off,  or  I  '11  shet  yeh 
up.  Do  yeh  understand  ?  You  quit  it,  or  I  '11  put 
yeh  where  you  won't  git  ashore  this  trip.  You  '11 
git  no  discharge  out  of  me,  and  yeh  won't  leave, 
nuther.  Now,  suh,  you  git  forrard,  and  don't  yeh 
open  your  head  to  me  ag'in  about  no  discharge.  Do 
yeh  hear  ?  You  git  forrard  and  behave  yourself  or 
there  '11  be  some  trouble  twixt  you  'n  me." 

A  man  at  the  masthead  of  a  whaler  who  is  without 
eyesight  is  neither  ornamental  nor  useful,  and  the 
captain  knew  my  vision  to  depend  upon  spectacles, 
several  pairs  of  which  were  at  the  moment  stowed 


The  End  of  my  Voyage  383 

away  in  my  trunk.  Furious  with  anger,  I  rushed 
forward  to  the  forecastle,  and  ran  back  to  the  quar- 
ter-deck with  the  extra  glasses. 

The  captain  stared  open-mouthed  at  me  as  I  came 
panting  on  and  threw  the  spectacles  over  the  side 
into  the  sea: 

"  There,  sir!  "  I  shouted.  "  Mebbe  you  can  take 
me  along.  But  I  don't  believe  it  '11  do  you  much 
good  to  do  it." 

"  Wha-what  in  h — 11  have  you  done  ?    You ," 

he  gasped. 

"  I  meant  what  I  said,  sir,"  I  interrupted.  "  If 
there  is  any  way  I  can  help  it,  I  'm  not  going  out 
of  this  port  in  the  brig,  sir." 

"  Yeh  hairit  !  Wa-al,  yeh  be.  You  git  forrard 
now  and  stay  there,  or  I  '11  hide  yeh,  by  gum.  I  '11 
hide  yeh  good,"  he  bellowed,  white  with  anger. 

11  I  expect  you  can  hide  me,  sir,"  I  admitted. 
"  But  you  won't  do  it  without  my  doing  my  best  to 
stop  yeh.  I  know  what  is  right,  and  mean  to  stand 
by  it,"  I  declared  hotly. 

Whether  the  captain  saw  something  in  my  face 
that  discouraged  the  idea  of  threshing  me,  or 
whether  he  knew  that  from  a  legal  standpoint  my 
position  was  sound,  whatever  may  have  been  the 
cause  of  his  conduct,  without  saying  another  word, 
he  turned  upon  his  heel  and  went  down  the  cabin 
gangway.     I  stood  waiting  to  be  arrested  until  I 


384  On  Board  a  Whaler 

saw  the  captain  come  out  of  the  forward  entrance 
to  his  quarters  and,  getting  into  the  mate's  boat, 
start  for  shore. 

The  next  morning  I  was  summoned  before  the 
captain,  who  smiled  and  greeted  me  kindly  enough: 

"  I  guess  yeh  was  a  bit  hasty  yisterday,  wa'  n't 
yeh,  Tom  ?  You  don't  want  no  discharge,  /know. 
Go  and  git  rigged  up  and  we  '11  go  ashore  and  git 
yeh  some  more  specs,  and  then  yeh  can  have  your 
liberty  with  the  rest  of  the  boys." 

I  saluted,  said  "  Aye,  aye,  sir,"  and  obeyed  so 
far  as  to  put  on  my  best  suit  of  clothes. 

A  few  minutes  later  we  entered  a  store  in  James- 
town where  spectacles  were  offered  for  sale,  and  the 
captain  addressed  the  young  man  in  charge  of  the 
showcase : 

"  This  young  feller  needs  some  specs.  Wish 
you  'd  fix  him  up,  will  yeh  ?  " 

**  Aw,  yes,  to  be  sure,  sir." 

The  clerk  glanced  at  my  glasses — the  single  pair 
left,  and  asked: 

"  Myopic  ?" 

"  It  's  the  cap'  that  wants  'em,  /  don't,"  I  de- 
clared, purposely  evading  the  question. 

"  Oh,  aw — hi  beg  your  pardon.  Hi  understood 
you  to  say  it  was  the  young  man  who  needed 
glasses,  sir  ?  " 

The  captain,  now  very  red  in  the  face,  glared  at  me  : 


The  End  of  my  Voyage  385 

"  So  I  did,  you  little  whelp,  you!  Don't  you 
come  none  of  your  monkey  shines  on  me  here ! 
Don't  you  do  it!" 

The  clerk,  now  without  apparent  trepidation, 
turned  to  me  suavely: 

"  Will  you  please  wemove  the  glasses  you  'ave, 
sir  ?  I  wish  to  compare  them  with  some  hi  'ave 'ere." 

He  removed  my  spectacles  himself  then,  and  held 
one  of  the  glasses  a  moment  before  one  of  his  eyes. 

M  You  are  myopic  to  a  considewable  degwee," 
he  announced  presently.  M  If  hi  cannot  match  them 
pwecisely,  hi  can  give  you  a  new  bow ;  these  seem 
badly  bent." 

He  took  a  case  of  concave  lenses  out,  and  after 
some  minutes  found  what  he  desired. 

"  Aw,  'ere  it  is,  sir,  pwecisely,  hi  am  sure,"  he 
said,  coming  smilingly  to  me,  and  holding  out  a  pair 
of  spectacles.  M  Hi  think  you  will  find  them 
pwecisely  the  same  as  those  you  'ave  on,  sir." 

His  intelligent  face  was  alight  with  pleasure  born 
of  applied  science,  and  he  continued  to  beam  upon 
me  as  I  placed  the  instruments  on  my  nose. 

"  'Ow  do  they  do,  sir  ?  "  he  asked,  confidently. 

They  were  an  admirable  duplicate  of  the  spec- 
tacles I  had  laid  aside,  but  I  most  ungraciously 
demanded: 

"  What  do  ypu  call  these  things  anyway — win- 
dow glass  ?  " 


386  On  Board  a  Whaler 

"  Aw,  sir!  They  are  the  finest  pebble,  sir,"  he 
insisted,  in  an  injured  tone.  M  The  vewy  finest 
pebble,  sir.'* 

"  I  don't  mean  that — what  are  they  ?  Have  n't 
you  got  anything  that  will  come  nearer  to  fitting  me 
than  those  things  ?  " 

Something  in  this  brazen  reply  seemed  to  lend 
courage  to  the  captain,  who  broke  in  with : 

"  Give  'im  the  best  you  've  got  in  the  shop, 
young  man.  He  wants  the  best  there  is  goin'. 
Don't  try  no  cheatin'  on  us.  He  '11  want  four,  five 
pairs,  anyways,  and  more  if  yeh  've  got  'em,  but 
they  want  to  be  all  right."    . 

The  clerk  eyed  me  dubiously.  "  'Ave  these  not 
impwoved  your  vision  in  some  degwee  ? "  he 
inquired. 

"  The  difference  between  seeing  and  not  seeing  is 
mighty  little  when  it  comes  to  a  pair  of  glasses,"  I 
boldly  insisted. 

4 '  To  be  sure — to  be  sure.  A  vewy  slight  differ- 
ence in  glasses  makes  a  vewy  great  difference  in 
their  effect,"  he  unguardedly  confessed.  **  If  you 
please,  hi  will  twy  once  more." 

After  some  fumbling  among  the  spectacles  in  the 
showcase,  during  which  the  captain  paced  impa- 
tiently back  and  forth  in  the  store,  a  second  pair 
was  brought  out  and  offered  to  me. . 

"  Kindly  twy  these,"  the  polite  clerk  directed. 


The  End  of  my  Voyage  38 7 

I  put  them  on  and  looked  about  the  room  a 
moment,  and  then  truthfully  asserted : 

"  These  are  a  mighty  sight  worse  than  those 
others  were.  They  were  not  so  very  bad,  but  these 
things  make  me  seasick." 

Then  he  offered  me  glass  after  glass,  one  after 
another  without  regard  to  theory  or  science,  until 
there  was  no  longer  need  for  evasion  in  my  remarks. 
At  the  end  of  it  all,  my  own  glasses  failed  to  fit. 

"  Ts  eyes  are  vewy  peculiah,  sir  —  wemarkably 
peculiah,  sir,"  the  clerk  finally  decided  in  despair. 
"  The  glass  'e  wears  is  appawently  myopic,  sir,  but 
hi  'ave  twied  evwy  concave  lens  we  'ave  on  'im, 
sir." 

M  What 's  that  yeh  said  was  the  matter  with  'im?" 
the  captain  asked. 

"  The  glass  'e  'as  on  is  myopic,  sir." 

"  Wa-al,  I  '11  be  darned!  He  allers  stuck  to  it 
he  was  nigh-sighted,  and  it  's  funny  you  can't  fit  'im. 
Mighty  funny !  But  mebbe  you  know  best  what  's 
the  matter  with  'm." 

"  'E  certainly  is  vewy  myopic,  sir.  Hi  am  sure 
of  that,  sir.  'E  is  vewy  myopic,  there  his  no  doubt 
of  that ;  but  hi  fear  'e  is  halso  hastigmatic,  per'aps 
to  so  considewable  a  degwee  as  to  hinterfere  with 
clearness  of  wision,  sir.  'E  is  undoubtedly  myopic, 
but  'e  is  hastigmatic,  too,  sir,  and  such  conditions 
wequire   a   specially  gwound   glass,   and  we   have 


388  On  Board  a  Whaler 

weally  nothing  suitable  to  'is  case  on  the  island, 
sir." 

The  captain  turned  suddenly  from  the  clerk  to 
me  and  bellowed : 

"  You  're  a  dod-blasted  humbug,  that  's  what  you 
be !  Mebbe  you  can  make  a  fool  of  this  dummed 
idiot  here,  but  yeh  can't  fool  me  with  no  sech  blamed 
trumpery.  No,  sir!  Yeh  can't  fool  me  no  sech 
way.     /know  what  ails  yeh,  if  he  don't." 

Then  he  wheeled  around  to  the  astonished  and 
embarrassed  clerk: 

"  What  's  the  bill  for  all  this  tomfoolery  ?  " 

"  The  what,  sir  ?  " 

"  The  bill,  yeh  darned  mummy  of  a  Johnny,  yeh 
— the  bill.  What 's  your  charges — what  's  the  racket 
for  that  dummed  gabble  about  your  opics  and  stick- 
itatisms  and  sichy  ?  What  's  the  damages,  yeh 
gump,  for  lettin'  that  boy  bamboozle  yeh,  like  he  's 
done  this  hour  ?  By  hoky,  I  '11  bet  he  don't  git 
run  up  agin  no  sech  fool  as  you  be  down  in  Cape 
Town — not  by  a  blamed  long  short,  he  don't.  I  '11 
bet  I  '11  find  somebody  down  there  that  knows 
suthin'  about  his  bisness.  You  've  jest  let  that  boy 
play  yeh — he  's  euchred  yeh  out  o'  your  eye-teeth, 
by  gum.  That  's  what  he  's  done,  whipped  yeh 
into  fiddle-strings  at  your  own  game,  by  ginger. 
You  're  a  Johnny \  and  that  *s  all  yeh  be — jest  a 
Johnny." 


The  End  of  my  Voyage  389 

Having  thus  given  vent  to  his  feelings,  without 
waiting  to  inquire  further  as  to  the  "  bill,"  the  cap- 
tain beckoned  to  me  to  follow,  and  we  went  together 
out  upon  the  street,  where  he  began  at  once : 

**  I  swow,  Tom,  I  dunno  what  to  think  about  yeh. 
I  vum,  I  dunno.  I  dunno  whether  yeh  was  foolin' 
him,  or  whether  yeh  was  foolin'  me  ;  but,  by  thun- 
der, I  believe  yeh  was  tryin'  to  fool  both  of  us." 
Then,  for  a  moment,  I  could  hear  him  chuckling 
softly,  before  he  broke  out  again.  **  Haw,  haw, 
haw !  Gy,  Tom,  you  're  slick,  anyhow.  'T  was  most 
as  good  as  a  circus.  '  Winder  glass/  says  you. 
'  What  do  yeh  call  these  things  anyway,'  says  you, 
4  winder  glass  ? '  Haw,  haw,  haw!  And  by  jinks, 
that  feller  did  n't  know  in  two  minutes  whether  he 
was  afoot  or  horseback.  No,  by  ginger,  he  did  n't. 
Gy,  but  't  was  wuth  takin'  yeh  ashore  for.  Wa-al, 
you  're  a  good  one  any  way  they  take  yeh,  and  I 
don't  b'lieve  yeh  'd  sneak  off,  nohow.  Would  yeh  ? 
If  I  was  to  let  yeh  go  by  yourself,  would  yeh  sneak 
off?" 

"  No,"  I  declared.  "  If  it  came  to  the  worst,  I 
might  even  do  that.  If  I  can  get  away,  I  '11  do  it; 
but  I  'm  not  ready  to  run  yet." 

He  chuckled  again  and  handed  me  an  English 
shilling  piece.  "  Here,  that  '11  pay  for  a  boat  to 
take  yeh  off  aboard.  I  guess  I  can  trust  yeh  for 
that,"  he  said,  and  walked  away. 


39°  On  Board  a  Whaler 

It  was  evident  to  me  now  that  the  captain  in- 
tended to  take  me  at  least  to  Cape  Town  before  re- 
leasing me.  The  mere  loss  of  my  extra  spectacles 
would  not  be  sufficient  to  induce  him  to  let  me  go. 
Some  other  tack  must  be  tried.  So,  after  getting 
back  on  board  the  brig,  I  consulted  Jack,  as  the 
most  experienced  man  in  the  forecastle  and  the 
most  resourceful. 

"  Why  don't  yeh  try  the  'Merican  counsel  ? "  he 
asked.  "  He  '11  let  yeh  go  in  a  minute.  You  jest 
try  him.  *  * 

"  What  's  he  got  to  say  about  it  ? "  I  inquired. 

"  Wa-al,  now,  I  'm  skunked!  He,  he,  he!  Here  's 
the  best  adjicated  feller  aboard,  and  he  don't  know 
that.  There  hain't  no  mistake  about  it,  this  is  a 
dummed  funny  world !  Don't  know  what  the  'Meri- 
can counsel  's  got  to  say  about  it !  Wa-al,  wa-al, 
Tom,  you  be  green  —  greener  than  a  punkin,  by 
gum.  I  thought  everybody  knew  the  counsel  was 
boss  in  foreign  ports.  I  vow,  you  're  a  bigger  gump 
than  anybody  ever  'd  a  took  yeh  for,  if  yeh  don't 
know  that  much.  Went  an'  busted  up  all  your 
specs,  and  mebbe  lied  about  'em  into  the  bargain, 
for  all  I  know,  when  all  yeh  had  to  do  in  the  world 
to  git  off  was  jest  to  go  to  the  counsel.  Of  course, 
he  '11  let  yeh  off— can't  help  lettin'  yeh  off.  Why, 
it  's  all  plain  sailin'  and  slick  's  grease.  I  '11  be 
mighty  sorry  to  have  yeh  go,  Tom,  but  you  go  to 


The  End  of  my  Voyage  391 

him  and  he  '11  give  yeh  your  walkin'  ticket  all 
right." 

A  week  passed  after  that,  during  which  the  rest 
of  the  crew  were  allowed  liberty  on  shore,  while  I 
remained  at  work  and  a  prisoner  on  the  brig, 
although  the  captain  had  readily  promised  to  take 
me  ashore  to  interview  the  consul.  Then,  on  being 
told  by  Frank  that  the  brig  was  likely  to  sail  almost 
any  day,  I  wrote  a  letter  to  the  consul  and  sent  it 
ashore  by  a  boatman  from  the  town.  The  letter 
reached  its  destination  promptly,  and  an  hour  or  so 
later  found  me  with  my  trunk  at  the  office  of  that 
commercial  agent.  There  was  no  trial  or  exami- 
nation of  any  kind  before  the  officer.  The  captain 
had  happened  to  be  in  the  office  of  the  consul  when 
my  letter  arrived,  and,  without  evasion,  admitted 
the  truth  of  its  statements,  upon  which  my  dis- 
charge had  been  ordered  at  once. 

The  captain  met  me  cordially  enough  outside  of 
the  office  of  the  consul.  "  I  don't  blame  yeh  much, 
now  it  's  all  over,"  he  declared.  M  You  'd  have  bet- 
ter come  along,  though.  I  'd  have  done  well  by 
yeh,  and  yeh  know  that;  and  if  yeh  change  your 
mind  before  we  leave,  I  '11  ship  yeh  over  now." 

Thus  my  connection  with  the  brig  as  one  of  her 
crew  was  finally  severed  and  I  was  sent  by  the  con- 
sul to  a  sailor  boarding-house  to  await  some  ship 
bound  for  home. 


392  On  Board  a  Whaler 

The  brig  remained  in  the  harbor  several  days  after 
that,  and  at  the  invitation  of  the  captain  I  visited 
her  a  number  of  times,  and  took  one  meal  in  the 
cabin  with  Frank. 

The  table  on  shore  was  better  provided  than  that 
of  the  brig's  cabin  even,  but  it  lacked  the  good-fel- 
lowship prevailing  on  the  vessel.  Even  big  Antone 
seemed  to  forget  his  grudge  against  me,  and  when 
I  ate  in  the  forecastle  insisted  on  my  dividing  the 
contents  of  the  kid.  There  was  but  one  man  on 
board  for  whom  I  did  not  have  a  genuine  liking. 
The  slovenly  laziness  of  Kenney  was  too  pro- 
nounced and  chronic  to  be  overlooked.  The  Por- 
tuguese members  of  the  crew  were  superstitious, 
excitable,  lacking  in  self-reliance  in  times  of  danger, 
easily  frenzied,  and  probably  treacherous,  but  they 
still  possessed  generous  impulses  and  traits  which 
entitled  them  to  some  respect.  They  owed  their 
worst  faults  to  early  education  and  the  peculiar 
temperament  of  their  race,  matters  for  which 
they  could  not  be  rightly  held  responsible.  But 
the  cook  had  no  such  excuse  to  offer.  All 
the  others  on  the  brig  were  typical  American 
whalers,  technically  not  the  best  of  sailors,  but  in 
kindness  of  heart  and  cool-headed  bravery  the 
equals  of  any  men. 

The  money  due  to  me  from  the  voyage  was  all 
paid  over  to  the  consul,  who  used  it  for  payment  of 


The  End  of  my  Voyage  393 

my  board  bill  while  on  the  island  and  for  my  pas- 
sage home  seven  weeks  later. 

My  stay  at  St.  Helena  was  most  agreeable.  But 
for  a  want  of  variety,  the  climate  would  have  been 
perfect.  Each  cloudless  day  was  followed  by  gentle 
showers  in  the  night-time,  leaving  the  air  for  the 
new  morning  clear  and  cool.  Day  after  day  the 
trade-wind  blew  from  the  one  direction,  never  hot 
and  never  cold.  And  we  were  assured  by  old  resi- 
dents this  was  the  unbroken  record  of  the  weather 
of  the  island  for  many  years.  Once  away  from  the 
rock-bound  coast,  we  came  upon  the  valley  in  which 
Napoleon  pined  and  died,  a  valley  clean,  beautiful, 
luxuriantly  fertile,  restful — a  very  Paradise. 

Its  isolated  situation,  thousands  of  miles  from  all 
the  rest  of  the  world,  and  the  character  of  its  inhab- 
itants seemed  the  only  drawbacks  to  the  island  as  a 
permanent  residence.  The  masses  of  the  people 
were  blacks,  mulattoes,  and  low-grade  whites,  all  ex- 
clusively employed  in  ministering  to  the  worst  pas- 
sions and  tastes  of  seamen  and  soldiers  from  every 
clime,  and  all  without  apparent  sense  of  shame, 
honor,  affection,  or  humanity.  A  little  aloof  from 
these  were  the  merchants  and  professional  men,  per- 
manent residents  who,  after  years  of  constant  associ- 
ation with  the  worst  elements,  had  lost  the  better 
parts  of  their  moral  perception,  and  were  only  less 
disgustingly  open  in  evil  practices.     Then  there  was 


394  On  Board  a  Whaler 

the  garrison  of  officers  and  men,  and  the  small  army 
of  consuls,  or  commercial  agents,  representing 
nearly  every  civilized  country  on  the  globe.  Lastly, 
the  fluctuating  population  of  seamen  and  adventur- 
ers which  daily  came  and  went  in  ships  formed  an 
essential  portion  of  the  community,  without  which 
it  must  have  soon  dwindled  to  insignificance. 

A  large  and  well-filled  marine  hospital  stood  upon 
the  high  ground  back  of  the  town ;  but  I  do  not  re- 
member seeing  either  a  church  or  a  schoolhouse  on 
the  island. 


CHAPTER    XXXVI 
IN  CONCLUSION 

MY  story  might  well  have  closed  with  the  middle 
of  the  last  chapter ;  but  it  seems  proper  to 
allude  once  more  to  the  character  of  its  real  hero 
before  making  the  final  exit. 

For  many  years  it  has  been  the  fashion  to  portray 
the  sperm  whale  as  an  animal  of  undoubted  cour- 
age, who  is  ever  ready  to  assume  the  offensive 
against  his  foes,  and  it  will  seem  to  some  persons 
to  be  an  act  of  unjustifiable  presumption  in  me  to 
cast  a  shade  of  suspicion  upon  this  long-approved 
and  attested  idea.  But  to  end  this  tale  with  no  word 
spoken  against  this  doctrine  would  be  tacitly  to  add 
my  testimony  in  its  support. 

It  may  be  conceded  that  this  whale  is  a  dangerous 
animal.  We  had  more  than  one  narrow  escape  from 
serious  injury  in  our  experience  with  him.  Even  a 
whale  floating  in  death  on  the  surface  of  the  ocean 
is  a  dangerous  thing,  for  an  ocean  liner  running 
upon    him   at  speed  would   as  surely  be   sunk   as 

395 


396  On  Board  a  Whaler 

though  she  had  struck  a  derelict.  A  boat  placed 
in  the  pathway  of  a  running  cachalot  would  be 
hopelessly  crushed,  and  a  man  smashed  by  his  fluke 
would  never  be  found.  Any  animal  possessing  the 
weight,  strength,  and  agility  of  this  whale  must 
always  be  the  subject  of  most  prudent  and  cautious 
attacks. 

But  has  he  the  temper  and  courage  usually  at- 
tributed to  him  ?  Has  he  the  intelligence  and  per- 
tinacity essential  to  the  fighting  animals  ?  Is  he 
aggressively  vicious  and  constant  in  his  purpose  ? 
Will  he  fight  as  the  panther  fights  ? 

If  I  were  to  base  my  opinion  exclusively  upon 
my  own  observation  of  the  whale,  my  answer  would 
unreservedly  and  unhesitatingly  be,  to  all  these  ques- 
tions— never.      He  has  hardly  the  grit  to  slap  a  fly. 

We  fastened  to  four  full-grown  bulls — whales  re- 
puted to  be  the  most  savage  fighters — and  killed 
three  of  them.  We  chased  a  dozen  such  bulls  for 
hours  after  having  pricked  one  of  them  with  a  har- 
poon, and  failed  to  overtake  them.  Twice  our  boats 
were  surrounded  by  unnumbered  sperm  whales,  and 
while  so  in  their  midst  we  safely  struck  and  killed 
ten  cows. 

If,  as  some  writers  would  have  us  believe,  it  is 
true  that  these  animals  are  ferocious  brutes,  eager 
to  battle  with  man,  is  it  not  singular  that  not  one 
among  all  the  whales  we  encountered  should  have 


In  Conclusion  397 

offered  to  fight  us  ?  that  out  of  a  probable  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  of  the  beasts  offered  the 
chance,  not  one  should  have  accepted  our  challenge? 

We  missed  collisions  any  one  of  which  would 
have  made  us  think  we  were  in  a  fight;  but  not 
once  did  any  whale  make  a  persistent  attack  upon  a 
boat.  So  far  as  I  was  able  to  discover,  every  whale 
we  came  near  did  his  utmost  to  get  away  beyond 
our  reach ;  the  object  of  all  their  struggles  seemed 
to  be  to  escape. 

But  my  experience  was  too  limited  to  oppose  to 
the  mass  of  undisputed  evidence  offered  upon  the 
subject  by  others.  There  have  been  numerous  tales 
of  fights  with  these  bulls,  written  by  men  of  seem- 
ing credibility,  and  more  than  one  old  whaleman 
whose  truthfulness  I  am  not  disposed  to  question 
has  related  to  me  instances  of  real  conflicts  that 
have  occurred  within  their  actual  knowledge.  Some 
of  these  may  be  readily  accounted  for  without  ad- 
mitting that  the  whales  engaged  showed  any  signs 
of  skill  or  design ;  but  others  remain  which  tend  to 
prove  that  at  least  a  few  of  the  old  bulls  really  have 
the  wit  and  the  perseverance  commonly  ascribed  to 
the  many.  Yet  it  remains  my  conviction  that 
vastly  the  greater  number  of  them  are  as  cowardly 
and  as  timid  as  ewe  lambs. 

THE   END 


ROYAL  ROGUES 

By  Alberta  Bancroft.     With  illustrations  by  Louis 
Betts.     12°  (by  mail,  $1.50),  net  $1.35. 

There  are  few  healthy-minded  folk,  whatever  their  time  of  life, 
who  will  not  confess  to  a  fondness  for  fairy  tales  of  the  right  sort. 
' '  Royal  Rogues "  has  that  quality  which  makes  a  children's  book 
win  the  hearts  of  grown-ups.  The  heroes  are  merry  twin  rogues, 
king's  sons  of  course,  but  with  a  strain  of  fairy  blood  in  their  veins. 
Wildly  strange  and  delightful  are  their  explorations  in  the  realms  of 
fairyland. 


LIGHTS  OF  CHILDLAND 

By  Maud  Ballington  Booth.  Author  of  "Sleepy 
Time  Stories."  With  illustrations  by  Alice  Farns- 
worth  Drew.     8°  (by  mail,  $1.50),  net  $1.35. 

Stories  for  the  rainy  afternoon,  for  the  fireside,  and  for  bedtime. 
They  are  an  evidence  of  the  full  sympathy  of  the  author  with  the 
hearts  of  her  child-readers. 


ON  BOARD  A  WHALER 

By    H.    G.    Hammond.      With   illustrations   by    H.    G. 
Burgess.     120  (by  mail,  $1.50),  net  $1.35. 

A  record  of  personal  experience,  put  into  story  form.  It  is  a 
boys'  book,  thrilling  with  the  adventures  common  to  the  old-time 
whaler's  life.  The  illustrations  are  of  the  sort  to  stimulate  the 
readers'  imagination. 


-•><:- 


G.   P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

NEW  YORK  LONDON 


BY  ELBRIDGE  S.  BROOKS. 

1)tSt0rtC  J60E5.  Their  Endeavors,  Their  Achievements,  and 
Their  Times.  With  29  full-page  illustrations.  8°,  pp.  viii.  + 
259 $1.50 

"  Told  with  a  spirit  that  makes  them  capital  reading  for  boys.  Mr.  BrooKs 
writes  in  a  clear  and  vivacious  English,  and  has  caught  tne  art  of  throwing  into 
high  relief  the  salient  point  of  his  stories."— Christian  Union. 

1)iSt0riC  (BtrlS.  Stories  of  Girls  Who  have  Influenced  the  His- 
tory of  Their  Times.     8°,  illustrated,  pp.  viii.  +  225.  $1.50 

"  The  stories  are  worth  telling  on  their  own  account,  and  will  serve  at  once  to 
give  their  young  readers  some  knowledge,  and  to  quicken  the  historical  imagina- 
tion."— N.  Y.  Evening  Post. 

CbtValrfC  2>a£S  and  Youthful  Deeds.  Stirring  stories,  presenting 
faithful  pictures  of  historic  times.     Illustrated,  8°        .         $1.50 

•*  The  historic  episodes  upon  which  these  stories  are  based  are  well  chosen,  and 
handled  with  considerable  skill  and  picturesqueness." — Mail  and  Express. 

fjerOlC   1bappenln00t     Told   in   Verse   and  Story.     Illustrated, 

8° $1.50 

"  Told  in  a  manner  to  elicit  and  hold  the  attention  of  both  younger  and  older 
readers.  .  .  .  The  book  possesses  the  fascination  of  fiction,  while  imparting 
the  facts  of  history." — Chautauquan. 

<5reat  flhen'B  Sons.  Stories  of  the  Sons  of  Great  Men  from 
Socrates  to  Napoleon.     Fully  illustrated,  8°         .         .         $1.50 

Including  the  Sons  of  Socrates,  Alexander,  Cicero,  Marcus  Aure- 
lius,  Mahomet,  Charlemagne,  Alfred,  William  the  Conqueror,  Sala- 
din,  Dante,  Tamerlane,  Columbus,  Luther,  Shakespeare,  Cromwell, 
Peter  the  Great,  Napoleon. 

M  Mr.  Brooks  has  performed  his  task  faithfully,  and  made  a  book  which  every 
thoughtful  man  ought  to  read.     It  is  very  charming."— iV.  Y.  Herald. 

XlbC  %OX\Q  1KHall6.  An  American  Boy's  Adventures  in  Greece. 
A  Story  of  Digging  and  Discovery,  Temples  and  Treasures. 
By  E.  S.  Brooks  and  John  Alden.  Illustrated  by  George  Foster 
Barnes.     8° $1.50 

M  The  characters  in  the  book  are  clearly  drawn  .  .  .  the  picturesque  and 
exciting  adventures  are  told  with  vivacity." — Philadelphia  Press. 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS,  New  York  and  London 


Tales  of  the  Heroic  Ages. 

By  ZenaIde  A.  Ragozin,  author  of  "  Chaldea,"  "  Vedic  India,"  etc. 
No.  I. — Siegfried,  the  Hero  of  the  North,  and  Beowulf,  the  Hero 

of  the  Anglo-Saxons.  Illustrated.  12°  .  .  .  $1.50 
No.  II. — Frithjof,  the  Viking  of  Norway,  and  Roland,  the  Paladin 

of  France.     Illustrated.     120 $1.50 

No.  III. — Salammbo,  the  Maid  of  Carthage.    Illustrated.    120. 

MThe  author  is  one  who  knows  her  subject  as  a  scholar,  and  has  the  skill  and 
imagination  to  construct  her  stories  admirably.  Her  style  is  terse  and  vivid,  well 
adapted  to  interest  the  young  in  these  dignified  and  thrilling  tales." — Dial. 

Plutarch  for  Boys  and  Girls. 

Selected  and  Edited  by  John  S.  White.  Illustrated.  8°.  $1.75 
Library  edition.     2  vols.     160 2.50 

*'  It  is  a  pleasure  to  see  in  so  beautiful  and  elegant  a  form  one  of  the  great  books 
ot  the  world.     The  best  Plutarch  for  young  readers."  —Literary  World. 
"  Shows  admirable  scholarship  and  judgment." — Critic. 

Pliny  for  Boys  and  Girls. 

The  Natural  History  of  Pliny  the  Elder.    Edited  for  Boys  and  Girls 
by  John  S.  White.     With  52  illustrations.     40  .        $2.00 

"  Mr.  White's  selections  are  admirably  made.  He  has  gleaned  in  all  directions 
for  his  notes  ;  and  the  result  is  one  which  reflects  on  him  great  credit,  and  adds 
another  to  the  number  of  juvenile  books  which  may  be  commended  without  reser- 
vation."— Independent. 

"  For  the  libraries  of  the  young — and  every  boy  and  girl  in  the  land  should 
collect  a  library  of  their  own — these  superb  books  have  a  special  adaptation  ;  they 
open  the  classics  to  them."— Boston  Journal  of  Education. 

Herodotus  for  Boys  and  Girls. 

Edited  by  John  S.  White.     With  50  illustrations.     8°     .         $1.75 

Library  edition.     2  vols.     160  ......  2.50 

"  The  book  really  contains  those  parts  of  Herodotus  which  a  judicious  parent 
would  most  likely  have  his  boys  and  girls  acquainted  with,  and  Mr.  White  has 
succeeded  in  condensing  these  by  omitting  multitudes  of  phrases  inserted  in  the 
Greek  text.  The  print  is  so  large  and  clear  that  no  one  need  fear  that  it  will 
foster  a  tendency  to  near-sightedness  on  the  part  of  boy  or  girl." — Nation. 

The  Travels  of  Marco  Polo. 

Edited  for  Boys  and  Girls,  with  explanatory  notes  and  comments,  by 
Thomas  W.  Knox.     With  over  200  illustrations.     8°.     $1.75 

"To  the  student  of  geography  Marco  Polo  needs  no  introduction.  He  is 
revered  as  the  greatest  of  all  travellers  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and  by  more  than  one 
careful  geographer  his  work  is  believed  to  have  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  New 
World  by  the  Hardy  Mariner  of  Genoa.  .  .  .  The  story  of  his  travels  was 
received  with  incredulity,  and  he  died  while  Europe  was  gravely  doubting  its 
truth.  ^  It  has  remained  for  later  generations  to  establish  the  correctness  of  his 
narrative  and  accord  him  the  praise  he  so  richly  deserves." 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS.  New  York  and  London 


Putnam's    Knickerbocker   Series 

FOR  YOUNG  READERS 


All  high-class  Juvenile  Literature,  well  printed,  on  good  paper,  and 
illustrated.  Uniformly  bound  in  ornate  covers.  12  mo.,  cloth, 
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Ames,  L.  T. 
Brooks,  E.  S. 


Cooper,  J.  F. 


Church,  A.  J. 


Eggleston,  G.  C. 


Farrington,  M.  V. 
Hamp,  S.  F. 
Irving,  W. 
Knox,  T.  W. 
Lukin,  J. 

Le  Due,  V. 
Munroe,  K. 


Mayne-Reid 


Rudd,  J.  P. 
Ragozin,  Z.  A. 
Stoddard,  E.  V. 
Taylor,  B. 


Leather  Stocking 

Tales. 

6  volumes. 


Sea  Tales 
6  volumes 


Great  Thoughts  for  Little  Thinkers 

Great  Men's  Sons 

Historic  Boys 

Historic  Girls 

Chivalric  Days 

Heroic  Happenings 

The  Long  Walls 

The  Last  of  the  Mohicans 

The  Deerslayer 

The  Pathfinder 

The  Pioneer 

The  Prairie 

The  Spy 

The  Pilot . 

The  Red  Rover 

The  Wing-and-Wing 

The  Water- Witch 

The  Two  Admirals 

The  Sea-Lions 

The  Hammer 

A  Young  Macedonian 

Three  Greek  Children 

The  Signal  Boys 

Captain  Sam 

The  Big  Brother 

Tales  of  King  Arthur 

The  Treasure  of  Mushroom  Rock 

Stories  and  Legends 

Life  of  Robert  Fulton 

The  Young  Mechanic 

Amongst  Machines 

Learning  to  Draw 

Under  Orders 

Prince  Dusty 

Cab  and  Caboose 

The  Coral  Ship 

The  Boy  Hunters 

The  Bush  Boys.     A  Tale  of  South  Africa 

The  Young  Voyageurs 

The  Tower  of  the  Old  Schloss 

Siegfried  and  Beowulf.     Tales  of  the  Heroic  Ages 

Bertrand  du  Guesclin — Constable  of  France 

Boys  of  Other  Countries 


14  DAY  USE 

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General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


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THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CAUFORNIA  LIBRARY 


